The Rivalry of James and Lily
by Heraclas
Summary: L/J fic mwpp - Your two favorite characters go at it love/hate style! Entire story being completely revised for your review-friendly convenience.
1. Lily's Birthday

The Rivalry; Year One

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the greatest writer EVER.**

**A/N: Hey Hey. Lily and James love/hate here. I'm re-editing every chapter, so there won't be as many stupid grammatical mistakes. Hope it's up to par...**

The Rivalry of James & Lily

_Chapter 1 - Lily's Birthday_

It was a surprisingly stormy day in Salisbury, England when 10-year-old, soon to be 11-year-old, Lily Evans woke up in early July. She was very pretty for her age, with long, straight, dark red hair, a fair complexion, and bright green, almond-shaped eyes. She had a great sense of humor and a bright mind, though lacked any true or admirable friends. At school, she was constantly alone because, like many witches and wizards, she made odd things happen that frightened everyone, even the teachers. These odd occurrences were often left inexcusable by the teachers, causing Lily to attend all the local primary schools due to her multiple expulsions.

Throughout her childhood, the strangest piece of magic she ever performed occurred when she was in her third year of schooling. She was assigned a one page essay on her favorite animal, the sheep, and when she turned in the assignment, she discovered it was 62 pages, and written with a vocabulary way above her intellectual ability. She was just as surprised as her teacher by the magnificent paper, but was expelled from that school for "obviously copying the essay from another source instead of doing her own work."

Another tricky piece of magic she performed happened at another school Lily attended. She had been playing in the sand box respectably when the local bully started making fun of her red hair. He called her fire engine, carrot, and even devil worms, until she lost control and suddenly all the sand ended up inside the boy's pants. The boy went into complete spasms, for he had trouble with stressful situations, and had to be rushed to the hospital immediately. Due to the circumstances, she was unfortunately expelled from that school as well...

But today Lily was not in school; it was early July and Lily was just waking up, excited for her eleventh birthday. She had been asking her parents for a lovely locket from the local jewelry store for the past three years, and she had an odd feeling her parents just might have gotten it for her. She ran downstairs to greet her parents, and in the meantime said a stiff hello to her sister Petunia, who was slightly crazy in the head. Petunia, who was 3 years older than Lily, had always been too focused on externals, obsessing over her self-image. Lily, who looked attractive no matter what hour of the day, was so unconcerned with her appearance that Petunia could hardly hide the jealousy she felt for her younger sister. She would kick her under the table when her parents weren't looking, steal clothes out of her closet and return them with disgusting stains, and disorganize her dresser drawers to simply aggravate her little sister. Lily dealt with her sister's poor attitude very maturely, however, never complaining and quietly cleaning every mess Petunia ever threw at her.

Meanwhile, Lily's parents greeted her cheerfully as she made her way into the kitchen and handed her a plate of pancakes covered in maple syrup.

"MMMMM.... Thanks Mum, Dad! This tastes so incredibly good this morning," said Lily through a mouth-full of food.

"Oh your welcome, Lils. When do you want to leave for London on your special day?" asked her Dad.

"Well...."

Suddenly her Mum pushed a small package in front of Lily. Lily smiled excitedly, and very soon, she was ripping the paper of a tiny box and staring at a small golden locket. She opened it and there was a picture of her mother and father inside. It was perfect.

"Thank you so so much," Lily cried. She smiled so widely her face felt stretched further than it should have been able. She jumped into her parents' arms, Petunia scouring in the corner at the whole scene.

While clasping the locket around her neck, Lily heard the mail drop through the front door.

"A bit early for mail, isn't it?" she heard her father ask as she ran to get the entrance hall, hoping for a birthday card from a friend or family member, but not really expecting one because the rest of her family was dead, and she didn't exactly have any friends. Suddenly she reached down and felt an extremely heavy envelope. She looked at it and it was addressed to her in green writing.

"Hmmm... I wonder what this is..." she mumbled to herself, intrigued.

She tore apart the envelope and skimmed over the invitation to join other students in studying magic. She stared at the letter dumbfounded, then entered back into the kitchen and handed the letter to her parents.

"What is this, honey?" her mother asked bewildered.

"Ju-just read it," she stuttered, hardly able to speak.

Her mom read the letter and gasped, then passed the letter over to Lily's father, who looked up at her stunned after he had, too, finished.

"Well, that letter explains a lot of things," Lily finally stated, breaking the uneasy tension in the room.

"Do you truly believe all of this, Lily?" her mother asked questioning the mysteriousness of the letter.

Lily looked at the letter, understanding her mother's concerns; it wouldn't be the first time someone played a practical joke on her. Yet somehow something about the letter simply seemed true. "Yes," she finally said. "This is why all these weird things happen to me. I'm a witch and I want to take up this position to study magic at this school, Hogwarts or whatever it is."

Her parents looked at each other uneasily.

"Oh Mum, Dad, can't we just go to that place in the letter, the Leaky Cauldron, and see what it's all about?" begged Lily. "Please, for my birthday. We're already going to be in London anyway..."

Her parents continued looking at each other, then her dad shrugged. "I supposed since we're already going to be there, there's no harm in checking the place out."

Suddenly, Lily was in the car with her parents (Petunia didn't want to come along to celebrate Lily's birthday, obviously). After a long ride, the car pulled to a stop outside a very scrubby looking her pub. Her parents looking very melancholy stepped out of the car and frowned at the run-down building. Rapidly, however, Lily steered her parents into the black, rotting door and began a very awkward conversation with the bartender, who she noticed, had very crooked teeth.

"Er... Hello? Um... Yes, I'm Lily Evans, uh, do you, uh, know how I can, er, well, I'm a witch?" she said questionably, looking at the bartender for answers.

"Oh! You must have been invited to Hogwarts! Oh well, here, I'll get you into Diagon Alley, where you can buy your school supplies which should be listed inside that Hogwarts envelope you're holding."

Lily looked at the man shocked. So Hogwarts really was true? She really was a witch? There was actually an explanation to her miserable childhood?

"You alright, dear?" the man asked as he stared at Lily in her daze.

Lily beamed. "Never been better. Thank you so much for all your help."

The bartender, Tom, she read on his name-tag, lead her to a back alleyway behind the pub and tapped his wand on the brick two up and three over from the trashcan. And Lily smiled as she entered through a giant archway appearing from thin-air, nearly forgetting her dazed parents who were standing with the mouths open back in the alleyway behind the pub.

***LATER THAT DAY***

Lily later arrived home, carrying a bunch of funny shaped packages into the house, and a cage with a beautiful chestnut owl, that she had decided to name Oedipus. Although, according to Greek mythology, Oedipus ended up marrying his mother and killing his father, Lily named her owl after this famous mythological character because he once answered the riddle of a sphinx, which traumatized the sphinx so greatly that it killed itself, leaving Oedipus to rule a kingdom. This scene exemplified the man's quick-wit, much like her own.

When Lily, entered the upper landing to her house, she ran into her sister, who simply gawked at her. Lily quietly entered her room, shut the door in her sister's face, and started petting and talking to her owl. She jumped in bed, turned to Oe and mumbled, "This has been the best birthday ever," then started flicking through her school books.


	2. The Hogwarts Express and Sorting

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the greatest writer EVER.**

** A/N: o.k second part. I hoped you like the first part, not much is happening so far. But it gets better. I've written up to the end of the second year. There's five chapters so far in each year. Please R/R. It's what gets me motivated to write. I'll post one chapter a day, I think, unless you guys want me to do it differently!**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year One - Chapter 2

_The Hogwarts Express & Sorting_

On September 1st, Lily woke up at 5:30, too excited and too nervous to go back to sleep. She would be starting at a brand new school, where no one would be able to label her as 'weird', for everyone there would, or at least, should, be just like her. Suddenly, she got a horrible feeling in her stomach. What if they sent her the letter by mistake? What if she didn't have enough magic in her? Her parents had never heard of this magical school, after all. What was it they were called? Oh yeah, muggles.

The previous night, Lily had stayed up reading and reviewing all of the terms used in the magical world so that she wouldn't look too stupid on the train ride to Hogwarts. She had read about the four houses at Hogwarts; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, and decided she wanted to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

But as she thought more about Hogwarts, she felt progressively more like she was going to throw up. She was just so unsure of what to expect from a _magical_ school. She looked at her clock and it was already 6:00. She had been daydreaming longer than she realized. Lily packed up her trunk with all her funny-shaped school supplies, jumped into the shower, fed her owl, and put on a dab of make-up. Her make-up basically contained just a little mascara and lip-gloss. She was far too nervous to eat any breakfast when her parents offered her some scrambled eggs and bacon. Soon, she was in the car, and then at King's Cross Station.

Unfortunately for Lily, her parents couldn't find a single parking spot. After convincing them that she was fine on her own, they bade her farewell.

"Bye Mum! Dad! I'll write loads!" Lily exclaimed, a note of anxiety in her voice.

"Bye honey, have a safe year, we love you dearly," her mother said soothingly.

Meanwhile her dad just said, "Knock them dead, Tiger. We love you more than anything!"

"Humph!" came from a very sour looking Petunia who had been forced to come along for the ride.

"Bye 'tun!" yelled Lily as the car started driving away.

Lily turned around rapidly and went into the station, but to her surprise, she couldn't find the platform. Platform 9 3/4 she said over and over to herself. She was now trying very hard to not panic, for the train left at 10, and it was already 9:45. She only had 15 minutes to get onto the train.

Then she saw a very tired looking boy who was carrying an owl and pulling a trunk. She very bravely walked over to him and asked him if he had heard of platform 9 3/4. Fortunately, for her he had. "Oh, are you a first year, too? This is my first year also, but my brother Romulus already graduated. That's how I know how to get on the platform. You just have to walk through that barrier there between platform nine and ten," he stated pointing at a very solid looking barrier. He then held out his hand. "I'm Remus, Remus Lupin."

"It's very nice to meet you. I'm Lily Evans," she said shaking his hand. "So you just walk through the platform?"

"Yes, would you like to go through together? You can travel in groups of twos or threes."

"Alright," and the two of them headed straight for the barrier, at a slight run.

Suddenly, Lily felt herself on a bright sunny platform with a scarlet steam engine in front of her. She bade goodbye to Remus, for he went to find a spot on the trains, while she just stared around in amazement. Suddenly, she heard a yelp in front of her and realized she had run full on into someone.

"Woops, sorry about that," she said, sounding a little dazed, but sympathetic.

"Gees, watch where your going," said a masculine voice.

She looked up into the boys face; he had messy black hair, big light brown eyes, and small-wired glasses. She noticed he was actually pretty cute.

"I said I was sorry," stated Lily.

"And I said watch where your going, carrot-top," the boy laughed.

"Gees, you have nice manners," Lily retaliated, irritably rolling her eyes at him. Secretly, she was just trying to hide the hurt names like "carrot-top" caused her.

"Ohh... Oi! Sirius, I've found a feisty one!" Said the messy black haired boy as another boy, who also had messy black hair, but skin that was a tone darker, and also darker brown eyes joined him.

"Ooh! James, you found a cute one!" he said nudging the other boy, who she figured was James, in the ribs. As Lily began to blush slightly, Sirius introduced himself and James. "I'm Sirius Black, and the idiot over here, who happens to be my best friend, is James Potter. We're both first years."

Lily, then spoke only to Sirius, saying her name was Lily, and that she was also a first year, but soon the whistle to the train sounded, and she realized she hadn't even put her stowed her luggage. She quickly said goodbye to Sirius, but gave James an unfriendly stare.

"See ya later, Devil Worms," James said.

Lily pursed her lips, and at that moment, decided that she hated James Potter. She turned away from him, flipping her hair angrily. She took a deep breath, and looked at the Hogwarts Express in front of her, steam bellowing from its engine.

"This place will be better," she assured herself. She then struggled to get her luggage on the train. When everything was finally safely stowed, she searched for an empty compartment, and found one near the back of the train.

She was just settling down with her owl, who she'd nicknamed Oe, (A/N: pronounced OO-EE) and started reading a book from Diagon Alley she had bought, called Quidditch Through The Ages, when the compartment door slid open, and James, Sirius, and Remus all entered. Remus was just about to introduce James and Sirius when Lily cut him off.

"We've already met," she stated flatly, glaring at James, which he immediately returned.

Sirius noticed this and started to giggle.

"What?" they both said irritably.

"Oh it's nothing, nothing, sorry, its just well... never mind." Sirius faded off looking like he was going to burst out laughing.

"Whatever Sirius... So Remus, how'd you meet up with these two bozos?" Lily said, and then she heard a "HEY!" from the two boys, but only said sorry to Sirius. James sat there looking very angry, shooting daggers at Lily through his stare.

Remus laughed, "I met them a week ago in Diagon Alley when I was buying my stuff. Well, actually, they played a bit of a nasty joke on me," he glared at both of them, "but I think we're alright friends now. Be careful though, they are the marauding duo, them two. Hey by the way, do you mind if we sit in here? No where else has any room."

Part of Lily did mind (the part that despised James), but allowed them to stay, as all three of them had made themselves comfortable in their seats. She then realized, Remus was possibly her first friend, and that made up for James, who was possibly the biggest jerk she had ever met.

Just then, Sirius noticed that Lily was reading Quidditch Through the Ages. "Ohhh... I love that book! Quidditch is totally the best game ever. Too bad first years don't get broomsticks, though. Hey Lily, do you know about quidditch. It's so great..."

Then he launched into a huge explanation about the balls and the famous games. Soon Lily was in a deep stupor, staring absentmindedly out the window watching the fields grow untidier and the forests turn darker. Just then, an interruption occurred, which she was very thankful for. A plump lady entered the compartment offering them food. Lily jumped up, starving because she hadn't eaten any breakfast, and walked past a still rambling Sirius to the witch. It was then that she noticed the weird food that the witch carried.

"What would you like deary?"

"Ohh...uhh..." Lily couldn't decide.

"Hurry up Evans, other people are hungry here, too," said a voice she recognized as James. How dare he call her by her last name? Well, she supposed that was better than some reference to her red hair, but honestly, he sure was rude.

"May I please have one of cauldron cakes, oh and a licorice wand, the gum, umm... 6 of the chocolate frogs, and the beans please."

After Lily had paid for her food she sat down in her seat and started devouring her food.

James raised his eyebrow at her. "Gees, slow down there horsey, or you'll be fatter than that witch that just came in here."

This extremely upset Lily. She didn't really mind him making fun of her. She was used to it after having a sister like Petunia. But insulting others...

"James Potter, you are stuck-up, obnoxious, rude, and annoying! You just insult other people because they're different! What is wrong with you! I mean..."

But Sirius who had jot down a spell on a piece of paper interrupted her. "Here, just pick up your wand, point it at him, and mutter this," he whispered so only she could hear.

"Alright, Tarantallegra!" she yelled. James legs suddenly began to jerk out of control in a sort of quickstep.

"Ahh! Lily, you idiot! Put me back at once!" James screamed, dancing around the room, while Sirius and Remus clutched their seats in hysterics.

"Say the 'magic word'!" Lily giggled, as Sirius wrote the counter curse on a piece of paper.

"NO! Sirius, you put me back!" screamed James.

"Uh, James, I seem to have misplaced my wand. I can't find it anywhere," stated a grinning Sirius who was obviously trying to hide something behind his back.

"Alright... gees, you got me, Lily... please!" James said disgruntled.

"Sorry Potter, but those are the wrong magic words. The magic words are 'Lily is the greatest person ever and will always be the greatest'," she said, laughing.

"No way, I'd never say that to you!"

"Fine!" she started to turn around, when she heard James mumble something. "What was that?"

"Alright! Lily is the greatest person ever and will always be the greatest," he said, unhappily.

Lily flashed him a smug smile, then said "Finite Incantatem!" and his feet stopped dancing.

James was obviously very upset, but Sirius and Remus were looking at Lily in a new light.

"Hey Jamsie! ("Jamsie" laughed Lily.) Lily here's pretty bright. She can help us with our mischievousness this year! I mean, look, she already outsmarted you! No one ever outsmarts you!" Sirius said enthusiastically.

James had such a look of hatred that Lily was actually scared. "It's not like you didn't help her, Sirius."

"Me? Help her? Well, I mean, maybe I did a little, teency, weency bit, but look, you've never said that to anyone! Not even me! And I've put you under the Imperius Curse once, and you wouldn't even say that. Not that I meant to," he added at the shocked look on Remus and Lily's face. "Long story... Anyway, I'm impressed to say the least." he said this smiling at Lily.

James turned to Sirius, hit him on the head, and then turned Lily's hair blue. Luckily for Lily, she was spared the inconvenience of thinking up a comeback by a voice in the train saying that they would arrive at Hogwarts within five minutes. The boys then forced Lily out of the compartment so they could change and left for her when she needed to change. As the train drew to a stop, a prefect came in, laughed at Lily, restored her hair-color, and left.

***The Sorting***

Lily hardly remembered what happened next. Suddenly she was being ushered off the train and ordered to follow an extremely large man, who was named Hagrid. Then she got her first sight of Hogwarts, rode in a boat across the lake with James, Sirius, and Remus. Then there she was, standing in front of a whole room of people, looking into a sea of pointed black hats and sparkling, floating candles. She noticed an unhappy looking lot on one side of the room, and figured they were the Slytherins, who she learned, turned out more dark witches and wizards than any other house. In fact, every wizard who had become evil, was in that house. She learned even Voldemort himself, who was just starting to rise, but was already gaining more power than even Grindewald, had been in Slytherin. Just then, one of the professors who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, put a ragged hat on a stool, where it sang a song, then started calling out the names of the first year students.

"Avery, Trenton...Slytherin!"

"Black, Sirius...Gryffindor!"

Lily was now starting to get very nervous, why did her name have to be in the beginning of the alphabet. Her breathe caught in her chest as she heard,

"Evans, Lily!"

She stumbled up to the hat, where it mumbled into her ear, "Where shall I put you? Well, definitely not Slytherin, and no, not Hufflepuff. Hmm... Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? Wait, I see you have a destiny with one of the young first years in GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily then walked numbly over to the Gryffindor table, took a seat next to Sirius, and sat numbly not even noticing when Remus, James, and another slightly overweight boy joined the Gryffindor table. She didn't even notice when another girl, who looked like a first year, started to introduce herself to Lily. She had been in a daze thinking about what the sorting hat had said, _I see you have a destiny with one of the young first years in Gryffindor_. What in the world was that supposed to mean? Was she going to end up marrying one of her new friends? Oh it better not be James she thought quickly. Suddenly she snapped out of her daze when Sirius bellowed into her ear.

"Huh? What? Oh sorry... I was just thinking."

"About what? Jamsie over here?'' teased Sirius.

"Why in the world would you say that?" she snapped.

"Oh I don't know, I was just thinking about what a great couple you two would make."

Sirius then got a slap from both Lily and James at that statement.

After Professor Dumbledore said his speech, warning the students to not go into the Forbidden Forest, and to mind Filch and his new cat, Mrs. Norris (she heard a lot of groans at this statement), he told them to dig into the feast that arrived right in front of her eyes. And she had never had such a glorious feast before. After she was stuffed with two courses of dinner and then dessert. She followed the rest of the first years up to their common room, where they were shown the way to their dormitory. Lily was so full and sleepy she barely even introduced herself to the other girls. She caught their names though. They were Kate Riley, Alexandra Byrd, and Sibyll Trewlaney.

** A/N: PLEASE R/R **


	3. The First Week

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the greatest writer EVER, except Alex and Kate.**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 1 - Chapter 3

_The First Week_

The next morning, Lily woke up in a wonderful mood. Yesterday had been one of the most amazing days of her life. She had made one great friend in Remus, a possible friend in Sirius, but also unfortunately, a probable enemy in James. But she hadn't even met the girls yet. She pulled back the curtains on her four-poster beds, to find two of the other beds still with unconscious sleepers inside of them. The third bed was empty. She realized the unoccupied bed was that of Sibyll Trewlaney, and Lily was about to go look for her when the two other girls began to wake up. Lily learned that both of the other girls, Kate and Alex, were also muggle born, but they had been friends before they got their letters to Hogwarts. They were both attractive, and seemed nice and funny, although, Alex was very small for being 11 years old. The three girls decided to get ready and walk down to breakfast together. There, they met up with Sirius, James, Remus, and the slightly chubby boy Lily recognized from the feast the previous night, who Remus introduced as Peter Pettigrew. For some reason, Lily, along with Kate and Alex, felt that they couldn't trust Peter. Lily knew it was bad to make judgments about people before she really knew them, but couldn't shake the feeling...

Lily's thoughts about Peter were forced out of her mind, however, when she saw the huge grins on James and Sirius's faces.

"What did you guys do now?"

"Umm... Why don't you look over at the Slytherin table?" Sirius managed to say through a hale of laughter.

Lily looked over and was pretty amused. James and Sirius had obviously turned two Slytherin's robes bright pink.

"Good job, Sirius!" she exclaimed, for the whole gang, including Kate, Alex, her, Sirius, Remus, and unfortunately Peter and James, had decided to make as many problems for the Slytherins this year as possible.

"Hey, it was my idea," said James hoping for a compliment from Lily, since yesterday he had been forced to tell her she was the greatest person ever. This way, they would be even.

"Your point?" she replied.

Just then, she was again interrupted: this time by the mail. She was rather surprised, and delighted, when hundreds of owls streamed into the Great Hall, looking for their owners. Oe came to her that first morning, but only to say hello. Lily noticed Peter's owl sent him boxes of things he forgot, including a package of whitey-tightey underwear. He turned bright pink when his owl gave him the package, and all the Gryffindors immediately cracked up.

Later, Professor McGonagall passed out timetables. Lily looked at hers, and noticed today she had charms with Professor Flitwick, Transfiguration with McGonagall, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Rupert. Tomorrow she had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Professor Sprout, along with Transfiguration again. Wednesday she had charms again and History of Magic with Professor Binns. Thursday she had another class of Herbology and Transfiguration. And Friday she had double Potions by Professor Karkaroff with the Slytherins. She was not looking forward to this class.

"Hey Lily, its time to go to Transfiguration," she heard Kate say.

"Coming," she replied, and made her way with Kate, Alex, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter to the transfiguration classroom. Sibyll still hadn't been seen.

They got to the classroom right as the bell rang, and were surprised to find Sibyll already in there, sitting in the back corner. The girls all sat on one side of the room, and the boys on the other. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall noticed this and then assigned the seating. Kate had to sit next to Sirius, Alex with Remus, and Sibyll with Peter. That left, Oh God, James Potter for Lily. James and Lily reluctantly took their seats next to each other and began to take complicated notes.

"I can't believe I'm next to _you_!" complained James.

"Tell me about it, what great luck, huh?" she said sarcastically.

"Just don't talk to me," he stated.

"Hey, you started this conversation, not me, remember?" she retaliated.

"Whoever said I was talking to you? Maybe I was just talking to myself?"

"Ooh nice comeback, Potter-" but she was cut off.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, may I ask, what ARE you talking about?" scolded Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry professor," they both mumbled.

"Nice going," Lily muttered.

"Hey, you're the one who raised your voice."

"Whatever." And they worked in silence the rest of the period. Lily was not pleased however, when James was the only one to transfigure his match into a needle.

Next the gang headed to charms, with Lily and James bickering the whole way. Flickwick, a short wizard, who tried to act strict but severely failed, taught that class. After that lesson, Lily felt much happier, for she was naturally good at charms.

The gang went back to their common room for midday break and lunch, and then headed back to the DADA (Defense Against The Dark Arts) classroom where Professor Rupert was waiting for them. Lily, and by looks of it, the rest of the Gryffindors, were highly anticipating this class. The actual lesson, however, was a bit of a laughable experience. The teacher wanted to show the class how to block hexes, so he had James send some simple curses at him. But each one directly hit the poor professor. By the end of the lesson he had green hair, purple eyes, blotchy skin, and was wearing pink-polka-dotted underwear. The class was in hysterics!

The next day, James woke up in fairly happy mood. He had, after all, been the best at transfiguration, and he had also performed many different hexes on one of his professors without getting in trouble. Yet, there was something nagging him in the back of his mind. Lily was better than him at charms. How could that be? He had always been top of everything he did. Still, Lily had been clearly better than him, and she didn't have any background training in magic. Heck, she didn't even know about Hogwarts until about a month ago. With this thought in his mind, he made his way down to breakfast by himself, not really paying attention to where he was going. Suddenly he felt himself bump into something.

"Watch it, Potter," he heard Lily Evans say.

"Sor-, wait no, you deserved that," he sneered.

He heard Lily mutter something under her breath, but chose to ignore it.

About ten minutes later, James had arrived in the Great Hall to hear everyone in hysterics, and pointing at him. He was very confused, and walked over to a laughing Sirius, who quickly told James that he had a bra on over his shirt!

With that, he looked down and felt himself go red. He tore of the bra, and walked over to Lily.

"You know I'm going to get you back for this, Evans. But, I guess you'll want this back," he said, handing her the bra, "I mean, wait, what am I talking about. Why would you need this? You're flatter than me!" But she was just sitting with a smile on her face that clearly showed that she felt she got the better of James this time.

Soon, it was already Friday and the gang was heading down to double potions with the Slytherins. Nothing had really happened during the rest of their lessons, other than James and Lily bickered some more in Transfiguration, and some Hufflepuff was attacked by the Venomous Tentacula, that had somehow found its way into Greenhouse 1.

As then entered the Potions dungeon, they heard a gruff voice tell them they were late and to sit down rapidly. Then he took 5 points off Gryffindor. Lily noticed that only 3 of the Slytherins were in the classroom, and when the rest ambled in, the Professor didn't take any points off of them. Both Lily and James noticed this at once, and began to argue with the teacher.

"Excuse me," said Lily. "But don't they get points off, too? I mean, they were later than us!"

"Yeah! I mean, we were only 30 seconds late! And that's pretty good for this being only our first week. And them being 5-10 minutes later than us definitely should mean they get a lot more than 5 points off," James trailed off, but at that moment he wished he hadn't said anything, for the teacher, Karkaroff, was giving both him and Lily looks of pure hatred.

"Detention, both of you!" he spat, "And 20 more points from Gryffindor. Don't ever challenge the way I teach. I am your professor, therefore I deserve respect. Now everyone get out your materials. We will be starting with a shrinking solution."

James nodded mutely, but Lily opened her mouth to argue more, until Kate kicked her under her desk to make her shut up. Lily closed her mouth and grumpily took out her materials.

The lesson did not improve as the class went on. A Slytherin, by the name of Lucius Malfoy, had been paired up with Lily to make the potion. Lily immediately recognized him as one of the boys who had had his robes changed pink. Severus Snape, a greasy haired boy, who she also recognized as a survivor of the pink robe incident, was with James. A boy with the last name of Crabbe was with Sirius. Goyle was with Alex, and some ugly Slytherin girls were with the Kate, Remus, Sibyll, and Peter.

As the lesson went on, Lily found out this Lucius Malfoy was rather taken with her. He commented on how pretty she was, and he even mentioned how impressed he was with the curses she had sent at James. He then told her that him and Snape were planning on performing a horrible joke on James and Sirius, tomorrow, when they went downstairs to breakfast. She was so disgusted that he actually liked her that she just stared at him with her mouth open. But, when he said something about performing a trick on James, she snapped out of it. A joke on James? Maybe she should accept. But then she remembered who was also in the joke, Slytherins, and she shook her head in refusal. Plus, she also didn't want to exactly play a joke on Sirius. He had been one of her friends. However, Sirius was a friend with James, maybe he deserved to be embarrassed too...


	4. Chopped Flubberworms and Bobotuber Puss

**Disclaimer: For you, JK Rowling, if you want it. Lol.**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 1 - Chapter 4

_Chopped Flubberworms and Bubotuber Puss_

After Potions, Professor Karkaroff had set up Lily and James's detentions for that night at 8 o'clock, in that very dungeon. So at 7:45, James and Lily grumpily made their way down to Professor Karkaroff's classroom without talking to each other. When they got there, however, the Professor was nowhere to be seen. They were just taking a seat when they heard a voice in the corridor.

"He's here you fool, Godric Gryffindor's descendant. I made this potion specifically so I would know when he came to Hogwarts. It turns scarlet when the descendant is present at the school. Do you see what color it is? Deep, bloody scarlet. We have to destroy him. I didn't pay over 1,000 galleons to visit the top 12 Seers to find out that I'm going to reach my downfall Gryffindor's stupid descendant. I'm going to kill this descendant before he can do anything to stop my uprising." The voice speaking was so chilling, it made the hairs on both the backs of Lily and James's neck stand on end.

"Of course, my lord. But look at the time, sir, I've got to assign a detention. Plus I think you're invisibility charm is starting to wear off, you seem to be reappearing in slight flashes," replied a voice who both Lily and James recognized as Karkaroff's.

"Very well, we will meet later."

As James and Lily were giving each other confused, yet scared looks, Karkaroff walked in.

"Ah... yes. James and Lily, you will be chopping these flubberworms into fourths," as he pointed to a basket bigger than Lily herself.

"Ugh..." mumbled Lily. She started to chop with James, and within a few minutes, the professor left.

It was well after midnight before either James or Lily said anything to each other.

"So what do you think that was all about?" questioned James, looking as though that was all he had been thinking about for the past four hours.

"You know, I really don't know. Maybe it was just part of the detention. He was probably trying to get us into more trouble. Seeing if we would follow the voice. Karkaroff sure seems to hate Gryffindors. Well actually everyone except the Slytherins..."she trailed off.

"But what if it wasn't? What if they're plotting a real murder? I wonder if Gryffindor's heir really is here. You know, if he is here, he may be a first year in our house! I mean it makes sense. There aren't any new professors, except for DADA, but he's too stupid to be a descendant of Godric Gryffindor. What if I'm Gryffindor's descendant? I mean, my father has never told me who my ancestors are."

"Now really, Potter, you don't need to make your overly large head any bigger. You already think all the girls are in love with you-"

"And may I remind you, they are," mumbled James with a smug smile.

"-Sorry to burst your bubble, but I know at least two girls who aren't falling all over you.'

"And who would that be? You and..." replied James.

"-Kate," Lily stated back.

"Really? Damn, she's really pretty, too. There's still Alex though," he added in an afterthought.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Hey, why doesn't she like me?" he asked.

"Oh, she likes you as a friend I guess," giggled Lily, seeing the shocked look on James's face. "She thinks your cocky, conceited, obnoxious, annoying-"

"Now your just describing how you feel about me," James replied.

"Yeah, well you get the picture," she smiled, smugly.

Karkaroff then walked in and ordered them back to their common rooms. He was actually rather surprised that they were still down there. I mean, no one ever stayed in detention past 10:00 if the professor wasn't there. First years...

The two walked back to their common room together, muttered the password, and marched up to their dormitory without saying goodnight.

*********

The next morning, James and Sirius made their way down to breakfast to find Lily and Kate already there, along with Lucius and Snape at the Slytherin table, deep in conversation. Puzzled by what they were doing, James narrowed his eyes at them, but quickly looked away when they looked up at him. Then he turned around to Sirius, who was now in a deep conversation with Kate and Lily.

"Great..." mumbled James. "Sirius is socializing with the two people who dislike me the most."

Because he had nothing better to do, and well, he was thirsty, he took a sip of his pumpkin juice, but immediately wished he hadn't. He spat it out, all over Lily, before realizing that the pumpkin juice had bubotuber pus in it. He felt great boils developing all over his face. And looked over at Lily, who had boils growing on her arms. She had tears in her eyes. Then they looked over at the Slytherins, who were in hysterics. Lily simply ran over to Lucius, showing him her arms.

"I thought you were playing a trick on James and Sirius! Not Me! Well, you know what? I warned Sirius in time to tell him to be awfully careful this morning, so your stupid trick didn't work on him!" she cried. "But, do you see my arm! It KILLS! Now put me back right this minute!"

"Um Lily, James... I think you better head to the hospital wing," Lily vaguely heard the headmaster say. She glared at Lucius Malfoy, who now looked like he was about to cry, and that stupid Snape who was laughing harder than anyone in the hall. She was going to get them back, maybe not soon, but when she got them, it would be good. Really good.

Spending the rest of the day with James in the hospital wing was worse than the pain of the bubotuber pus. He kept pestering her about why she didn't tell _him_ about the Slytherin's joke. But, as his mouth was covered in boils, his words sounded more like troll grunts than anything else. And listening to a troll grunt wasn't much better than listening to James Potter. Finally his boils started to die down and he was able to talk.

"You still should've told me. Then you wouldn't be in here either," he stated in an annoyed tone.

"Potter, look at it logically, even if I did tell you the Slytherins were going to play a joke on you, you wouldn't have known what they were planning to do and you still would've drunk your pumpkin juice," she stated matter-of-factly.

"True. But hey, what Slytherin told you they were playing a joke on Sirius and me? I mean you're a Gryffindor. They had to figure you'd tell someone."

"Oh, it was just Lucius Malfoy," she mumbled, not wanting to discuss the conversation she had with him.

"And why would he tell this to you?" asked James, catching on that Lily wasn't telling him something.

"What's it to you Potter? Jealous that I've got an admirer that you don't?" she replied through gritted teeth.

"Jealous that a Slytherin admires you! NO WAY! Wait, he admires you?" he began to laugh.

"Oh just shut up, Potter."


	5. The Christmas Gift

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the greatest writer EVER, except Alex and Kate.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews people!!!!! This is FUN!**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 1 - Chapter 5

_The Christmas Gift_

Lily couldn't believe that she had already been at Hogwarts four months. Four whole months! So far, she was doing very well in all her classes, except perhaps transfiguration. That definitely was her hardest class. James, on the other hand, had top marks in transfiguration. He also was doing very well in his other classes, except he was weak at charms, where Lily was best. James and Lily were very competitive with each other, and this only increased how much they loathed each other.

Lily had also started to socialize a bit with Sibyll. Lily noticed that Sibyll was a very strange girl, who was obsessed with the future. She would constantly try to predict what Lily was going to do that day. It was actually quite annoying. Lily had also become better friends with Remus, but she noticed that he was sick very often. Lily was getting along very well with Kate and Alex. She considered them her best friends. Lily was, however, a little annoyed with Alex because she actually seemed taken with James Potter.

It was a week before Christmas, and Lily was in her dorm, playing with her locket. She was going to go home for the holidays. (A/N; I know you all probably want Lily to stay at Hogwarts with James or whatever, but its just not realistic. I mean she hasn't seen her parents for 4 months, and it's her first year. She's got to see them). She was actually pretty excited to see her parents. She had missed them dearly, and she had transfigured some quills into a beautiful necklace for her mother, and a nice gold watch for her father. She even managed to transfigure a very old quill into a decently nice tray of make-up for her sister.

Before she knew it, the week had passed and she was on the Hogwarts express with Kate and Alex, who were also going home, and then they were pulling it Kings Cross Station.

"Lily! Lily! Over here!" she heard her mum cry.

"Mum! Dad! Er..uh.. Hey Petunia," she said to her grim-looking sister.

"Oh Tiger! We've missed you! How's your year been so far?" replied her dad.

"Oh! It's been wonderful! I've learned loads and I've made some great friends! And one enemy, but nothing I can't handle," she smiled. This made Lily think about the couple of times she had made James end up in the hospital wing, along with stupid Lucius and Snape, but then she also thought of how she had ended up in the hospital wing. She shivered slightly, but told herself that she had come off better in most of the situations, and went back to talking to her parents.

When Lily woke up on Christmas day, she wasn't surprised when she saw two feet of snow outside her window. Every Christmas she had spent at her house had always been like a winter wonderland. She bounded downstairs to find presents from her family. She opened a box with a beautiful new green dress that perfectly matched her eyes. The dress was slightly big, but she figured she'd grow into it. She then opened a tiny box that had a key inside of it.

"What's this?" she asked her parents with interest.

"It's a key to your very own Gringott's account. We put a small deposit in there so you could take out wizarding money as you please when you need it," said her mother in a very proud voice.

"Thanks Mum! That will be extremely helpful I'm sure in years to come."

She put the key on the chain with her locket and gave her parents a huge hug, giggled at what Petunia gave her (a wicked witch of the west figurine), then bounded upstairs to relax.

**********

Lily patted her stomach uncomfortably as she laid down on her bed after dinner. She had had three servings of Christmas dinner, and four cookies for dessert! She was stuffed, utterly. But hey, it was only Christmas once a year, right? Alerting her from her stupor, she heard a knock on her window. Curious, Lily opened it and in flew her owl, Oe, who had been gone delivering the presents Lily had bought for her friends. To Lily's surprise and delight, the owl turned up with a pile of presents for her. Lily was very mystified at how the owl carried all the boxes, but was distracted after she opened her present from Kate. It was a box of beautiful green hair clips. She also got an assortment of lip-gloss from Alex. From Remus she got a box of scrumptious sweets. James gave her a very mysterious looking box of cookies, which she didn't eat. She was glad she didn't, because Sirius's letter that he had sent with his gift(a book called Curses and Countercurses) had said that he thought James may have done something to the cookies because he had a big grin of his face when he made them. Lily laughed at this and began to read the new book.

"This will come in very handy when I need to curse James," she thought happily.

******************

By the time Lily had gotten back to Hogwarts, she had memorized the whole Curses and Countercurses book, and was ready to use one on James. Suddenly, she heard a muttering behind her and felt her legs turn to jelly. She turned around with struggle, but saw James Potter holding the exact same book.

"James, put me back!" she yelped.

"Haha, no way. This book Sirius gave me is going to come in very handy."

"Hey James! Guess What?" She didn't wait for his reply before sending him a Hair Loss curse. "Sirius gave me the book, too!"

James looked very unhappy, maybe because he was bald, or maybe because Sirius had just created a major problem for him.

Right then, Sirius walked into the room and started laughing.

"I see you guys have read my book!" he said, jauntily.

"Yea, we have, and now we're going to have to read the whole countercurses section so we can put ourselves back," snapped James grumpily. He didn't like being bald.

"Ha! Speak for yourself James!" and Lily said the countercurse and her legs turned back to normal.

James knew better than to ask her to put him back, so he simply found a seat and started searching through the book for the countercurse.

***A LOT Of Time Passes***

As Lily was riding home on the Hogwarts Express after her first year, she couldn't help smiling. She had made some great new friends, passed with excellent marks, and even slipped past many detentions.

"What an awesome school," she thought. "I just can't wait until next year."

**A/N: I know, I basically skipped the second half of the first year, but I need to get this story moving! I have so much planned to write about, from dances, to secret rooms, to, well, you'll see. I think I'm going to try to write about all 7 years, like Ms. J.K Rowling. I'm already almost done with the second year. R/R and enjoy!**


	6. Remembering and Back to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns my soul - aka my L/J fanfiction.**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 2 - Chapter 1

_Remembering and Back To Hogwarts_

James was very happy the summer was almost over and he would be heading back to Hogwarts. It's not that he didn't like his family, or having nothing to do but lay around all day; he just couldn't wait to continue with his study of magic. Wait, who are we kidding here? He couldn't wait to play more jokes on Lily Evans and the stupid Slytherins. And, he was proud to admit it. He had come up with quite a list of new pranks for the coming year.

The last half of the school year after Christmas had flown by so fast that he thought maybe the calendar had simply skipped a few months. From what he could remember (although it was quite a blur), the rest of the year had continued just like it had begun, with jokes on the Slytherins, jokes on Lily, a couple trips to the hospital wing, and then the highest grade in transfiguration, the second highest in DADA, following Remus, and yet the lowest in charms, not counting Peter. Stupid Lily was top in that.

He decided he better not think about Lily, unless he wanted to end up in an extremely foul mood, so he went back to daydreaming about the crimes that were due to happen this year at Hogwarts. He had been to Zonko's joke shop multiple times throughout the summer, and had stocked up on filibusters fireworks, dungbombs, and other supplies that would help him in his mischievousness. The perfect box of supplies with which to beat his detention record of 53.

At the same moment, Lily was at her house in Salisbury having a raging argument with her sister.

"I will NOT get rid of Oe!" screamed Lily, as her sister complained about the oddness of having an owl.

"But what if one of my friend's sees it! They are going to think I'm crazy! Crazy! Crazy like...like... YOU!" she managed to spit out at last. "What if Verny sees him?"

"Oh Gosh, here we go again. I really don't see how you have a boyfriend. He must be very mental," Lily mumbled, but not quiet enough for her sister to not hear.

"You, you horrid little creature!" she screeched Lily, then slapped her across the face.

Lily pushed her sister out the door of her room, then yelling, "Hey 'Tun, you really should work out some! Your slaps don't even hurt anymore!" Then she slammed the door shut before Petunia could enter back in and wail on her some more. She sat on her bed and rubbed the side of her face. Lily couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts. She had been dealing with Petunia all summer.

The next few days passed slowly for Lily, but finally, it was September the first. After a small issue losing control of her luggage trolley on the muggle platform, she had made it on to platform 9 3/4. And with the help of her parents, who this year had found a parking space, she successfully stowed her luggage on the train.

"Love you, Mom, Dad," she said, hugging them each. "I'll write loads more this year."

Her mom had a tear in her eye.

"Go get 'em again this year, Tiger," her dad said, plopping a kiss on her head. The whistle to the train sounded.

"I better go," she said. "See you at Christmas!"

Her mom sniffled and gave her one last hug.

Soon thereafter, Lily was back on the Hogwarts express. She was now searching for her friends, or an empty compartment. Of course, with her luck, she couldn't find her friends anywhere. And when she came to the last compartment, guess who was in there? (DumDumDum.... Sibyll Trewlaney! No j/k) Of course, James Potter.

"Where is everyone else?" questioned Lily.

"I was wondering the exact same thing. Sirius said something about flying his motorbike to Hogwarts, but he wouldn't let me come along. He mentioned something about the other seat already being taken." James looked rather grumpy when he said this.

"Do you know who he took?"

"Do I know who he took? What kind of question is that? Obviously I don't or I wouldn't be sitting here talking about it to you," he snapped.

"Well, sor-ry, Potter! I bet Sirius took a pixie or something along, just so he didn't have to deal with you the whole ride," Lily replied. She was getting quite annoyed already. And she had been so excited to return to Hogwarts, and now it was turning out to be just as bad as home.

James simply swiveled around in his seat, and Lily followed suit, so that they had their backs to each other. They sat in silence, for about 5 minutes, until Lily spoke up.

"That still doesn't explain where the others have gone." Just then, a muffled laughter came from outside the compartment. Then the door slid open and in fell Remus, Alex, Peter, and Sibyll. Peter and Sibyll had supposedly been becoming better friends with Alex and Remus, and she, Lily, also was starting to accept them more. At this point, however, Lily shot daggers at her friends.

"Did you guys set this up?" she questioned.

"Ahh.. Lily, why would we do something like that? You know we think you and James would make such an _awful_ couple," said Remus, rather bravely.

"Yes, yes, I know that, but I also know that your ears turn bright red when you're lying, and Remus, anyone can tell you, they are scarlet." With that she stalked out of the compartment.

"I think that went rather well," said Remus jauntily, to his three other friends who were still lying on the ground with him. They were all avoiding James's deadly gaze. Lily stalked back into the compartment.

"Hey, Alex, so where's Kate?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her all day," she replied.

Then Lily heard, "Sirius," and turned to see a smile fall over James's face.

Lily suddenly caught on. "Oh my, I think we're going to have some fun teasing those two when they get to Hogwarts." And with that, she filled in the rest of her friends about where Sirius and Kate probably were and what they were possibly doing.


	7. The Arrival and Secret Room

**Disclaimer: A present for you, JK Rowling**.

**A/N: I've still got a lot more written! Hope you are enjoying the story so far!**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 2 - Chapter 2

_The Arrival and The Secret Room_

Sirius and Kate didn't show up until the sorting started. And they weren't in the best of moods.

"Straight detentions for three weeks, Sirius. This bites. And school hasn't even started," she moaned.

"Yeah... actually, this kicks me off in the right direction for beating my detention record last year though."

Kate slapped him playfully. "Is that all you care about? Beating some silly record? We're going to be stuck cleaning bed pans, and chopping bugs, and ewww...." she trailed off, shivering.

"Oh come on, Kate, you know I was only kidding. At least we have the detentions with each other," Sirius added smiling.

"So, how are the two love birds coming along over here?" James had entered the conversation.

"Love birds? Us?" both Kate and Sirius said in unison.

"Oh come off it, Sirius, I'm not that blind. You wouldn't invite a girl over me unless you were really taken with her-" Sirius blushed at these words, "-I've seen the way you look at each other, you like each other."

"Oh shut up, Potter, we're just friends," replied Kate.

"Yea, Potter," Lily had now joined the conversation, "Like I said before, Sirius might have just not wanted to be with you." But then she added, "but for the first time in my life, I have to agree with James, you two like each other," while giving her two denying-love friends a piercing look.

"Eurgh, whatever. Anyways, how was your ride over here?" asked Kate.

"Oh don't tell me you were in on that little plan. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but all me and James did was fight some more."

"Oh well, we've got other plans for you two, haven't we, Sirius?" giggled Kate.

Sirius simply smiled at James and Lily, while they both grunted through gritted teeth, "WE HATE EACH OTHER! JUST ACCEPT IT!" and got up right in the middle of the Dumbledore's speech.

Later that night, Lily was walking around the castle. She didn't really know where she was going, or realize where she was, until she was in front of an extremely unfamiliar painting. It was of a thatched covered house that looked as though it had come from the fairy tale, Snow White. The house had dozens of colorful flowers growing wildly along the base of the house, and in what would have been its backyard was a small vegetable garden. In that garden was a small snake coiled around a carrot. Behind the house, she could see an foreboding looking forest, and a group of ravens were crowded in the sky. There also was a badger rolling around in the side yard. But the strangest thing about the picture was the lion that was staring fiercely out of the cottage's window. She was just admiring the picture when she saw a small lever right next to a torch beside the picture. Curiosity of course won the best of her, and she pulled on the lever.

"Wow," she muttered as she stared into a royal-looking room.

The room contained a small, four-post bed, covered with a scarlet down comforter. It had golden pillows that sparkled in the firelight from the corner of the room. There was a puffy gold threaded chair in one corner, a mahogany desk to her right, and a tall dresser on the other side.

It was beautiful, and she was just about to enter when she heard footsteps coming from the other direction. She quickly shut the painting and ran off in the opposite direction of the footsteps, not wanting to wait and see who it was, in case it was Filch, Mrs. Norris, or a professor. She made sure though, that she would be able to retrace her steps to the painting. She figured it was a perfect place to hide from those nasty Slytherins, or even her friends when they were bothering her about James. EWW James...

Meanwhile, James was just coming around the bend, following directions his father had written down for him. He heard footsteps running off in the other direction.

"I wonder who that is," he thought. He paused a moment to make sure the footsteps didn't come back. He felt smug though. He was wearing his new invisibility cloak his father had given him. No one was about to catch him. After a few quiet seconds, he looked back down at the piece of paper in his hand.

"It should be just here," he mumbled. "Ahh yes, this must be the picture dad told me about."

The painting perfectly depicted the exact cottage with the four different house animals that he had pictured in his mind when his dad had explained it to him. In fact, his dad had revealed much more than just this painting to James. He had finally disclosed that the Potter's were actually the descendants of Godric Gryffindor. Lily had been wrong. Anyways, this paintings identity had been passed down through their family for over a century. The family only knew of one other person who hadn't been one of Gryffindor's descendants who had found the room. But, she had ended up becoming an Auror and his grandfather's wife.

James looked at his watch. It was past midnight, and he was starving.

"Ugh, I'll come back here later. I need to make a run to the kitchens."

And with that, he left the picture of the painting, eager to explore, and visit the kitchens, with this new invisible liberty. He smiled smugly realizing he couldn't get caught by any stupid professors or caretakers or Slytherins or Lily Evans.


	8. Trial and Death

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this every chapter?**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 2 - Chapter 3

_Trial and Death_

James had a nagging desire to go back to the secret room, but quidditch try-outs had started that first week of school. Each night after clinics, he was so worn-out he could hardly do his homework, let alone sneak out in his invisibility cloak. James and Sirius were both trying out for the Gryffindor team, along with Kate and Sibyll. They all wanted to be chasers, for they were the only positions open. The two beaters were Rose and Anna McMoore. They were twin 5th years. The seeker was Ben Johnson, a 6th year, and the keeper was Matt Wood, a 3rd year. Last year the Gryffindors had won the quidditch cup, so they were only looking for real talent to accept the best on the team.

Lily wanted to try out for the quidditch team, but she didn't have a broomstick of her own, and she still hadn't mastered the skills of flying yet. Remus said he also wanted to try out, but he was worse than her when it came to anything with aerodynamics. He was mortified of heights. She figured she'd try out in a couple of years when she was a little better in the air.

Kate and Sirius were very good players, Sibyll was horrible, and James was by far the best of the three. He was quick and speedy and never seemed to drop the quaffle. When Lily went down to watch one of the practices on a Saturday morning with Alex, she noticed that James wasn't as much of a hot-head when he was playing quidditch. He was still a leader, but he had almost a playful glint in his eye. He constantly laughed. He seemed to really love the game.

_Eww, uh, Lily? He will always be a conceited and pig-headed. The quidditch field just covers it slightly, but its still there, _ she reminded herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when James threw a bludger down at her, and she had barely enough time to dive out of the way.

"Oh Potter, do watch where you throw those things. You could have easily hit me!" she hollered up at him.

"My point exactly, Evans," he called back, doing a fancy spin on his broomstick.

"Showoff," she muttered, grumpily.

On the day of the official quidditch try-outs, Lily had never seen any of her friends so nervous. Kate had nearly bit off all of her nails and Sirius wasn't eating anything, which was a big surprise because he constantly thought about his stomach. Apparently Sibyll was no longer trying out because she Saw herself not making the team, so she wasn't down at breakfast. Lily figured Sibyll was right, for she was far worse than any of the other players. Lily noticed that James, however, didn't act the slightest bit nervous. He obviously thought he was going to make the team, and although she silently agreed with him, she wished he wouldn't act so cocky.

Within minutes, Kate, Sirius, and James were all heading for the quidditch field with Alex, Lily, and Remus behind them for support. Rosie and Anna McMoore were co-captains and they were heading the try-outs. There were a total of 15 players trying out for the three chaser positions, and Kate, Sirius, and James were the only second years. Lily watched in amazement as all three of them had wonderful try-outs.

Soon, all three of them were walking over to her with glum looks on their faces.

"Oh, I'm so sorry guys, you seriously had awesome try-outs," Lily said sympathetically to Kate and Sirius, turning her back on James.

"Oh, Lily, you don't have to sound so upset," replied Sirius.

"W-what? Why wouldn't I be upset? I wanted you to make the team!" she retorted.

"Right Lily," mumbled Kate.

"Gees, what's up with you guys, I was just trying to be nice."

Suddenly she noticed a smile developing over their faces.

"Wait, is there something you guys aren't telling me?" she questioned.

"Oh Lily, we made the team!" laughed Sirius.

"You Jerks," she said playfully, "always making a joke out of everything." Then she walked with them up to the castle.

***A few weeks later***

It was a stormy October night, and Kate, Sirius and James had just finished up a quidditch practice. Alex had given her homework (which Sirius and Kate had already copied) to James to copy. It was about midnight and he was the only one in the common room. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the window, and saw an old barn owl tapping the glass. Peculiar, as owls usually just made visits during breakfast. It knocked more aggressively.

"Alright, I'm coming," he mumbled.

The owl flew in and placed a note on top of his homework. He noticed it was addressed to him.

"I wonder what this could be," he muttered.

But after he opened it, he wished he hadn't. It carried news so unbearable he thought that it had to be some horrible joke. No way. This couldn't be happening to him. It was absolutely not possible. It was just not possible. The owl must have been mistaken; his parents, dead? It couldn't be...

**A/N: :(**


	9. Dumbledore

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling rules.**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 2 - Chapter 4

_Dumbledore_

That night, James didn't even go upstairs to his dormitory. He sat by the fire, staring blanky into the flames until somewhere around daybreak. He was in one of the arm chairs when he was woken at 9:00 by Sirius.

"Hey James, uh, Professor Dumbledore wants you. He told me to come and get you since you didn't come down to breakfast. He'll meet you in the Great Hall. Er, you okay? You look horrible," he added in concern.

"Huh?" James asked. But then James remembered what had happened the night before. His parents, dead.

"Oh, its nothing Sirius. I just didn't get much sleep," he mumbled.

He slowly got up and exited out of the portrait hole, not noticing Sirius pick up a letter and begin to read it.

"Ah, there you are Mr. Potter," James heard the headmaster say, after his zombie-like walk to the Great Hall. "Please follow me to my office. I need to discuss a couple of issues with you."

James slowly trudged after the headmaster, ignoring everything around him.

"Please have a seat," said Dumbledore, pointing out a chair in front of his desk. He really hadn't realized they had entered his office.

As James sat, Dumbledore looked at him over his half-moon spectacles. "James, I have heard about your parents. I'm truly sorry."

James continued to look at the professor, but couldn't say anything.

"Really, if there is anything I, or any of the other professors can do, please reach out to any of us," Dumbledore said.

James just continued to stare at him blankly.

"I've brought you in here today, James, because there are some things you must know about your parent's deaths."

Dumbledore paused. James felt his body go numb when he heard the words 'your parent's deaths.'

"Lord Voldemort killed them, James. He has discovered that you are Gryffindor's descendent and he wants your whole family dead."

James blinked. His parents dead, and now Voldemort after him? When would this nightmare end? And then the professor continued...

"I know you have noticed how Voldemort has gained power. He went after your family because he learned someone from your family will hinder his rise. Because time is so complicated, I cannot tell if, when, or how this will happen, but I do know, James, you need to be careful."

James nodded. That was all he could do.

"You may leave if you have nothing further you wish me to explain," Dumbledore said.

And with that, James got up and left, his mind buzzing with Dumbledore's last words. He walked and walked around the castle, not knowing where to go, or who to talk to. Then, he ran into the last person he wanted to see in the world: Lily Evans.

"What's up with you, Potter?" she asked.

He didn't respond. He just walked right past her, not wanting to show her the hurt he was feeling. For some reason, he felt he should tell her; that this somehow was connected with her. But he couldn't bring himself do to it, to explain everything that had just happened to him. He just kept walking until he found Sirius, who showed him the letter he had found. James nodded, understanding that Sirus knew what had happened, and told him everything Dumbledore had said. Sirius looked scared, but just comforted his friend.

*****

By Christmas, James was pretty close to back to normal. Sirius was the only one who really knew about his parent's deaths, besides perhaps the headmaster and the teachers. James signed up regretfully when the list for who was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas came around. Sirius was the only other Gryffindor staying over the holidays, which he was quite thankful for. James was afraid to face Christmas without his parents, but he actually handled it remarkably well. He sent flowers to their graves, and thought of them frequently. But overall, he had a pretty nice day. He got some awesome gifts for pulling pranks, and he even received a nice box of chocolate frogs from Lily. And sooner than he wanted, everyone came from their holidays.

And come back they did. It was just another typical day in Transfiguration, and he was in just another heated fight with Lily. He was still Lily's partner, and she was struggling so ridiculously it was annoying.

"James, I am _trying_ to transfigure this stupid tortoise into a tea pot," she snapped at him, after he rolled his eyes at her sixteenth failed attempt.

"You're just not doing it right. You have to swish your wand like this," he demonstrated.

"Right James, you're starting to sound like my mother," she muttered. But immediately Lily realized she said something wrong.

James dropped his wand with a clatter on the table. "Don't talk to me about mothers, alright!?"

"Sorry, I-"

"No, listen, Lily, you are driving me crazy! Just stop talking, seriously!"

"Gees, James, it slipped. What the hell is wrong with -"

"Potter, Evans, 10 points from Gryffindor for interrupting me, and I would like you to see me after class. I have something I would wish to discuss with both of you," stated Professor McGonagall over their bickering.

James gritted his teeth and Lily glared at him.

"Way to go," he mumbled.

Lily just rolled her eyes, and went back to swishing her wand incorrectly.

But as upset as they were then, it was nothing to how they would feel after they talked to McGonagall at the end of the period. She was forcing them to tutor each other! Lily had to tutor James in charms, and he had to tutor her in Transfiguration.

"This is horrible!" she moaned as they were walking back to the common room.

"Gees, you're telling me," he added grumpily.

**A/N: Reviewies pleasies!**


	10. Teddy Bears and White Linens

**Disclaimer: A present for ****JK**** Rowling**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 2 - Chapter 5

_Teddy Bears and White Linens_

It was now mid February, and Lily and James had been tutoring each other every other week. Today they were working on transfiguration. James was already fuming because Lily had just turned the old transfiguration book into a live bear cub, instead of a teddy bear.

"Lily, you're going to kill yourself one of these days if you aren't careful what you transfigure," he said, changing the cub back into a transfiguration book.

"Ah, you sound like you care," she said teasingly. "Plus, you're way to much of a worry wart. It's not like the cub could actually hurt me. It was just a baby, and it was rather cute."

"Yea, but if you would've exaggerated that a little more, it could've turned into this," he demonstrated, and a full-grown mother bear was in the room with them, roaring. But with a swish of his wand she was a book again.

"Ohh! Let me try that!" said an enthusiastic Lily, and before he could stop her, the huge bear had materialized in front of them again.

"Lily! Watch out!" James yelled as the bear started to charge for her, but too late. It had already raised its gigantic paw and hit her hard. She was now lying unconscious on the floor.

The bear turned toward him, and he quickly mumbled the first thing that came to his head. Suddenly, the bear was floating.

Woops. He swished his wand again and transfigured the bear back into a book. It dropped with a clunk in the corner of the room.

_Well_, he thought, _I guess Lily _has_ been helping me out in charms. I've finally mastered how to make things fly._

James looked around, and then he saw Lily on the floor.

"Evans?" he asked, shaking her slightly. She didn't move. Oh man, this looked bad. What did he do? Why did he have to show her that stupid transfiguration? He carefully picked her up, struggling slightly even though she wasn't very heavy, and carried her up to the hospital wing.

When he knocked on the door, and Madam Pomfrey opened the door, she looked at him, shocked. James hurriedly explained the story while he laid her down on one of the white linen beds. The nurse turned pale as he finished the story and ushered him out of the door.

While he was walking back to the Gryffindor common room, he couldn't understand why he felt so guilty and worried. Lily had been his worst enemy for the past year and a half, and he'd never felt guilty when he'd sent her to the hospital wing before. But this time was different. He hadn't actual meant for her to get hurt. He just wanted to show her how dangerous transfiguration could be.

"I guess I showed her," he mumbled.

"Oi, Potter, what's bugging you?" he heard Lucius Malfoy yell from behind him. James turned to see him accompanied by Snape, both of them sneering.

_Great. Why do the stupid Slytherins always have to turn up at the worst of times?_ he thought.

"So what is it Potter? Did Lily annoy you during your tutoring session again?" whined Snape.

"No, actually, we just had a pretty bad accident and now she's in the hospital wing, so please leave me alone?" snapped James.

"Haha, so you're worried about the stupid mudblood," asked a very pleased looking Snape.

But he didn't stay around long enough for James to reply. Snape had grabbed a shocked and worried looking Lucius, and they were out of sight before James could say or do anything back to them. _You better run_, James thought.

James turned around, disgruntled, and walked up to the Gryffindor common room.

Meanwhile, Lucius and Snape were having a very interesting discussion.

"So, do you think Potter here maybe actually has feelings for Evans now? He really did look worried," said Snape.

"Oh I hope not," moaned Lucius. "That would ruin all my chances of going out with her."

"You never had any chances with her anyway. Besides, maybe she's a better way to get to Potter. After all, the Dark Lord would be very pleased if we helped him bring down Potter for him. Maybe she would be the best person to torture, instead of Sirius, to drive Potter mad so he ends up turning himself in? You know, Dumbledore put that stupid charm over his house and his friend's houses so that James can't be touched while he's there. But that doesn't mean Lily can't be. Lets go talk to Karkaroff," stated Snape.

Lucius looked stunned. Torture Lily? But he followed Snape anyway to the Professor's office.

***A Week Later***

Lily was still in the hospital wing. The bear had actually given her a concussion, and she had broken her arm when she fell. Kate, Alex, Sirius, and Remus had all come to visit her. And to her disgust, Lucius Malfoy had also visited her and brought her a box of chocolate frogs. Today, however Lily was feeling a lot better, and was pestering Madam Pomfrey to let her leave.

"Oh come on, I'm feeling so much better. I've been here a week! I need to catch up on my work," she begged the stern looking nurse.

"You need one more day. Tomorrow you may leave. Besides, you have a visitor."

"Really, who is- why are you here, Potter? Come to laugh at me?" she grumbled.

"No, just thought I'd bring something. I thought it was funny," he said while tossing her a teddy bear. Then he added smiling, "This way, if you do that transfiguration again, you know exactly how its supposed to turn out."

"HAHAHA, very funny Potter," she said sarcastically. "You know, it's not a crime to be nice to me, at least when I'm hurt."

"Whatever, Evans. Get better. I'll see you around." And with that, he left the infirmary.

Lily furrowed her brow. _Did he just tell me to get better? Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought_.

***Spring Break****

It had been a couple months since Lily had had her transfiguration accident with the bear, but she still wouldn't attempt to transfigure anything into something that could harm her. That basically meant that she was afraid to transfigure anything.

"Oh come on, Lily, just turn this quill into a lizard," moaned James.

"No way! It will probably turn into a giant alligator, and then it will bite my head off. Wait, maybe I should transfigure it, and then it can bite yours off," she said.

"Yeah, right. You couldn't transfigure that into a lizard, let alone an alligator, if you tried."

"Oh yeah, Potter, watch this!" And with that, she turned the quill into a blue-belly lizard.

"See I _told_ you I could do it," she said, haughtily. "Wait, what am I saying? I DID IT! OH MY GOD, JAMES, I DID IT!" she yelled, and she threw her arms around his neck.

"Eww, Lily, get off me," he barked at her.

"Huh? What? Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to," she said happily, only half-hearing him. She obviously didn't realize that she had just hugged her worst enemy.

By the end of the year, both Lily and James were much better at transfiguration and charms, respectively. They actually passed their exams with ease. James got the highest scores on all of the exams, except charms, where Lily came out on top. And Lily had the next best score after James on every other exam; even transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was quite pleased.

**A/N: R/R puhhlease!**


	11. The Excitement

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the greatest writer EVER.**

**A/N: Sorry this took so incredibly long! I've had softball and it's taken days to write. I actually have almost the rest of the third year written, but I haven't typed it up yet. I didn't really have much time to edit, so sorry for the typos. I hope you enjoy!**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 3 - Chapter 1

_The Excitement_

"This is going to be a long year," Lily mumbled, as she found herself with blue hair and pink skin for the second time in one afternoon. She was on the Hogwarts Express, and to her disapproval, James had become extremely ruthless over the summer. It seemed to Lily that he had done nothing except study new curses. But Sirius told her to look at the bright side. James had been simply thinking of _her_. Eurgh.

"Oh, I see... So that's why he's learned curses. Because the thought of me and maybe some of the Slytherins makes him just so happy," she grumbled.

"You could think of it like that, OR that he likes you," grinned Sirius.

"Oh shut up, Sirius. We _hate_ each other. Do you see me right now? My skin is hot pink! I will never like James, EVER. I swear by it," she snapped.

Sirius just kept grinning.

"Seriously, Sirius. If you ever catch me liking him, you can make me kiss him right then and there," Lily proposed.

"Ohhh... I'm going to run this by Jamesie boy. I'll see if he'll do the same thing. OY! James! Get over here!" he hollered. James trudged over.

"Nice hair, Evans," he smirked.

"Oh you obnoxious-"

"Stop it, both of you," Sirius intervened. "And now that we're all here I would like to inform you of something, Jamesie."

"Okay," James replied.

"Well, Lily and I were just having a discussion, and she said if she finds herself liking you, she'll kiss you right then and there. Will you do the same thing if you find yourself liking her?" asked Sirius.

"Sure, whatever Sirius," James said, shooting daggers at Lily.

"Great!" squealed Sirius with delight, and he turned around and started skipping away.

"Hey Sirius, where are you going?" yelled James.

But Sirius had already left the compartment, and to both James and Lilys' horror, they were the only ones in the compartment together. Before James could do anything. Lily had grabbed her stuff, and left through the same door as Sirius. Now where were Alex and Kate? She really needed to verbalize her anger to her friends. James, James, and more James was just too much for her to deal with. However, before she could find anyone she knew, the train had stopped and they were at Hogwarts once again.

"First Years! O'er Here!" she heard Hagrid bellow through the stampede of students charging toward the ghost-horse-driven coaches. As she was still by herself, she took her time to get to the coach, figuring there was no rush to get to the feast and she didn't want to risk have to share the a coach with anyone she disliked - like Slytherins or James. Plus, it wasn't like the food was going to be served anytime soon - they had to sit through the sorting. So as she ambled slowly up to the last coach, staring up at the twinkling lights of Hogwarts. The castle still look her breath away, like it had the first time she saw it.

"Ugh," she heard someone say.

She looked around at the voice and noticed someone who did not make her much happier. James Potter was walking toward her from the train, and there was only one coach. This meant they would have to share.

_You have to be kidding,_ she thought as she climbed into the coach after him. They rode in silence, occasionally making eye contact and making faces when they did. Just his breathing was annoying the hell out of her. Could this day _really_ get any worse?

Unfortunately for her though, it could. When she finally got to the Great Hall, she noticed her friends had saved two seats for them, of course, right next to each other. Lily noticed the smug look on Kate and Sirius's face, and she decided she would kill them after dinner. She was too hungry to bother killing them yet. But still very reluctantly, Lily took her seat next to James. Kate and Sirius kept flashing her innocent smiles across the table, which she naturally returned with a look of extreme disgust. Because she and James had been so late arriving, they had missed the sorting, and now Dumbledore was talking. She wasn't really paying attention until-

"-a dance will be held at hogwarts this year," he said.

"What?" she gasped. She couldn't help feeling excited with the rest of the students. A dance! She hadn't attended a real dance, ever! Her primary school thought they were "too young" and Hogwarts had never had one before. She eagerly listened as Dumbledore continued.

"The dance will take place the night before the end of the term. It will last from 7 until midnight. You can wear dress robes or muggle clothes. Whichever is more pleasing to you. It is not necessary to have a date, but it is recommended. The dance will be open to students third year and above-"

A few students let out gasps of indignation.

"- and I know in general dances are open to only those fourth year and above, but the teachers and I have all agreed on the new age parameters."

His eyes flicked to Lily, and then, she noticed, to James. What was he trying to imply?

_He really is off his rocker, _she thought. But her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of lions ripping apart prey. Or was that just Sirius eating like a dog?

"You know Sirius, you look like a dog," Lily stated simply.

"Thanks! You know a lot of people think dogs are cute," he stated sweetly. But after he said that, he looked away from her and bit his lip. He looked like he was actually thinking. And thinking hard.

"A dog," he mumbled. "Interesting, very interesting."

"Look, uh, Sirius, sorry if I offended you. You okay over there? This isn't like you," said Lily guiltily.

The only response she got, however, was a mumble of, "Lily, you're a genius." And with that, he grabbed James, Remus, and Peter, and left the Great Hall, without even a second serving.

Lily, Kate, Alex, and Sibyll simply stared after the foursome completely confused.

"That was weird," stated Kate, finally breaking their shocked silence.

"You can say that again," Alex added.

"Come on guys, let's follow them," Lily said. And the four of them also left, hoping that they would be back in time for dessert.

"Lily, I'm freezing. Come on, we can't find them. Let's go back. Dessert might still be there," trailed off Alex, hopefully.

"They have to be here somewhere," muttered Sibyll.

"Guys, I REALLY need to pee. Please can we stop somewhere. I'm dying!" exclaimed Kate. "Come on, here's Moaning Myrtles bathroom. Yes, I'm even willing to stop in there." She gave her friends a desperate look.

"Well go on, then. Hurry up," Lily said.

A second after she walked in, however, she walked back out, looking surprised.

"What's up?" Lily asked. "I thought you had to pee."

"Oh, I'm alright. Umm. I can wait." Kate stated back, but a little to sternly and they all gave her suspicious looks.

"Is someone in the bathroom?" asked Alex.

"Bathroom? What bathroom? Oh! That bathroom. Of course not. I mean, who would go in that bathroom..." she sat there repeating herself over and over, and finally Alex had had enough.

"Ok, I'm going in," she said sternly, and pushed open the door even though she heard a powerful "NO!" behind her.

Alex was quickly followed by Lily and Sibyll, who were quite interested in what was going on. But, when they got in there, every thing was as usual as possible. Now why was Kate acting so weird? Then, somehow, Sibyll went into a weird prediction.

"I feel the presence of... of... a... stag in here," she said airily.

Lily looked at her with disapproval. She had been going into mountains of weird predictions and they were becoming really annoying. Sibyll had always been pretty weird. But lately, Lily just was so frustrated with her that she wanted to tape her mouth shut. And judging by the annoyed looks on Alex and Kates' faces, they felt the same way.

"Oh, come on," said Alex, grabbing Sibyll's hand.

"I think I'm going to use the loo now, guys," said Lily.

"Let's go to a different bathroom. This one's gross," suggested Kate.

"No it's alright. We're already here. Alex, Sibyll, you can go ahead back to the Great Hall if you want," said Lily.

Alex didn't look too happy about being stuck with Sibyll, but she didn't like that bathroom much either, so she shrugged and left.

As the door closed behind Alex and Sibyll, a sneeze broke the silence.

"Who was that?" asked Lily.

"Ummm... I didn't hear anything," said Kate.

Lily rolled her eyes and walked towards the source of the noise.

"And what are you guys doing in the _girls_ bathroom?" Lily asked, demanding an answer from the four boys whom she had just uncovered in one of the toilet stalls.

"Nothing, honest Lily. We were just talking," replied Sirius.

"About what?" she interrogated.

"Just stuff," he said. He then looked meaningfully at Kate, but Lily caught on.

"Kate heard some important stuff when she came in here, huh?"

No one said anything.

"You guys, I won't tell anyone. I'm great with secrets. You should know that by now," Lily said, almost desperately. She was dying to know what she missed.

Kate looked at the boys pleadingly, and finally Remus gave in. "Okay, Lily, okay. Kate heard me talking about a, er, condition I have."

"Um, like a heart condition?" Lily asked.

James snickered.

"Sort of," Remus replied. "But a little different."

"Yes?" Lily said.

Remus looked at his friends. "Okay, I'm a werewolf. The guys here finally caught onto it today on the train ride over here, and Miss Riley here entered the bathroom right when I finally admitted it."

"Really Remus? That's so neat! Seriously, you're a real werewolf?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Erm... well... yea. I just thought you guys wouldn't like me much, so I never told anyone. You know, most people don't trust people like me. I figured you'd all feel like that. I guess you guys really are my first true friends," said Remus, almost with tears in his eyes.

"Aw, how sweet," said James, in mock seriousness. But he was smiling.

But Lily hadn't forgotten the question that she had originally asked them.

"So why did you guys come to the girl's bathroom?"

"Well, we never thought anyone would come in here. It's always roped off, you know," Sirius said.

"And no one would, unless they REALLY had to," Kate added.

"It's not like Remus here wants everyone to know. We had to _try_ to keep his secret. It was only lucky that it was only Kate and you that walked in here," James said.

"But why were you so interested in that dog stuff, Sirius?" Lily questioned.

"Now that, I can't tell you." And the four boys left the bathroom before she could stop them.


	12. Thriller

**Disclaimer: Yay 4 JK.**

**A/N: I really don't know what I'm going to write about this chapter, so if it's sorta random, I'm sorry. I know what I'm putting in the dance though, I think. I've basically got an idea in my head. I might not be able to post much for a while though because I'm starting softball and it takes up a HUGE amount of my time.**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 2 - Chapter 2

_Thriller_

"James, shut up! I need to concentrate!" Lily said urgently. The gryffindor third years were in another transfiguration class in late November, and Lily was struggling, once again, to transform her candle sticks into roses.

"Mr. Potter, I must request that you restart those tutoring lessons with Ms Evans every other Thursday," Professor McGonagall said, looking disapprovingly at Lily's plain candle sticks.

"Can't someone else do it, Professor?" James asked desperately.

"Absolutely not. You have the highest grade in this class, and the greatest potential in this subject. Plus, maybe if you two see enough of each other outside of class, you'll quit continually bickering."

"Lily, you're such an idiot. This stuff isn't that hard," he mumbled after the professor left.

"James, I'm sorry! Maybe if you stopped pestering me while I'm concentrating I would be able to do it," she retaliated back.

"Whatever, like that would change anything."

"Seriously, James. I'm trying my hardest. Doesn't that count for anything?" she replied.

"Obviously not."

"Ugh! You're so immature!" she exclaimed, and she slammed her books back into her bag and stormed out of the transfiguration classroom. Luckily, the bell rang just as she left, so there was no chance she'd get a detention for leaving the classroom too early. She stomped her feet as she walked without any real destination. She just wanted to get away from everyone - okay, mainly James - for a while.

"I hate him," she mumbled over and over, a tear fighting to escape from her eye. She suddenly ran into something in front of her.

"'Lo, Ms. Evans," said a powerful voice.

"Oh hi, Hagrid, how are you?" she said, blinking the tears away.

"I'm 'right, but you don't look so good," he said, sympathetically.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Rough lesson, that's all," and she bade him goodbye and continued walking along her no-destination trail. A few minutes later, she wandered past a tapestry, and found herself in front of the picture she had uncovered in her second year. _Perfect_. She had nearly forgotten about the secret room hidden behind the painting, but it was exactly the kind of place she was looking for right now. No one could find her. She pulled the latch and entered the cozy scarlet and gold room.

_Why does he piss me off so much? Why can't I just blow of his comments like I do with the Slytherins?_ she asked herself. _Eurgh, I hate him! I really hate him!_

She sat in that room for what seemed like hours, staring at the hangings of the pour-poster bed. When she finally started to really look around the room, she noticed a giant box in the corner, and of course, began to investigate it. What was it? It definitely hadn't been in there last year. She examined the box, noticing that there was a lightning bolt on the side. She opened it, and found it was filled with different joke items from Zonkos. She also saw there was piece of very old parchment, and some jars that looked like they could be filled with potions ingredients. Random. Who would have put this here?

She glanced down at her watch. Eek. She had Divination in 3 minutes and the classroom was about 20 minutes away. She bolted out of the secret room and started to run down the corridor, but just as she turned the bend she ran straight smack into someone running just as hard in the other direction. The force of the collision knocked her to the floor, and a bunch of bottles clattered around her.

"Oh, I'm so sor-," she started, but then stopped mid-sentence. To her horror, she was now face-to-face with James.

"Where are you going?" they asked at the same time.

"Divination, where you're supposed to be going," Lily replied.

"I'm just putting these things away," he said, pointing to the scattered items.

"Alright, whatever," Lily mumbled, helping James pick the bottles up, and handing them to him. He looked at her surprised, but she didn't seem to notice that she had just helped her worst enemy. She set off towards the classroom, rubbing the side of her head where she had hit James. She decided not to start running again because she kept having mild dizzy spells, which she figured had to do with the golf ball lump just above her left ear. Suddenly, she heard an incantation behind her.

"What the-?"

*** Meanwhile, James was running towards the picture. He had decided to keep his marauding tools in the secret Gryffindor room since no one else would be able to find it. And even though he had told his best friends about it, and even showed them where it was, they couldn't get into it on their own. James had to be there to open it. He figured only people who Godric Gryffindor wanted to open it could open it.

Beyond Zonko's items, he was also hiding potions ingredients. He, Sirius, and Peter had decided to become animagi so they could accompany Remus in his transformations. They had discovered in a book from the restricted section of the library, which James had stolen under his invisibility cloak, that there were two difficult processes to master to become an animagi. One was a transfiguration, and the other was a potion. The boys had begun to collect some of the ingredients for the potion, but some were so rare, they were worried that they would never find them. James figured the room was the safest place for storing the ingredients they had, since he was the only one who could get inside of it.

After James threw the bottles in the box in the corner, he quickly rushed off to Divination. He was now 2 minutes late, and still 20 minutes from the classroom. He stopped however, when he heard a moan coming from a classroom to his left. He pushed open the door.

"Lily? What are- Oh my God! Help me someone!" he yelled. He looked down at her. She was as white as a ghost and shaking.

"James," she mumbled. "Watch out."

"Watch out for what?" he questioned, urgently. He started scooping her up in his arms to take her to the hospital wing.

"It's.... a.... trap," she breathed.

"What?" he asked, bewildered. "Come on, Lily, you hit your-."

"So, we finally meet Mr. Potter," spoke a chilling voice.

James swiveled around, Lily in his arms. He set her down against the wall. She was now mumbling something uncontrollably. It sounded like, "Alex, Kate, Help James," but he couldn't completely make it out. He set her down and took out his wand.

"Who are you?" he asked, for the speaker was wearing a cloak which did not show his face.

"Who am I? I am your worst nightmare," he said in a hiss. "Maybe you would recognize my name - Lord Voldemort."

James stood there, his wand raised. He had never felt so much hatred towards one person in his whole life - he was physically trembling - yet he couldn't move. This person had killed his parents and so many others. Why couldn't he move? He glanced at Lily, then Voldemort raised his wand.

"And now ends Godric Gryffindor and Lily Potter," he stated triumphantly.

James maintained eye contact with Voldemort, expecting to feel a hot pain any second, or at least some sort of discomfort, but a shuffling to his left distracted both of them.

"My last name is Evans!," a shaking, but angry voice cried.

"Stand aside silly girl," he heard Voldemort say, almost lazily.

"No," Lily replied defiantly.

"Then I will make you," he hissed.

And then James heard two incantations. He wasn't entirely sure, but they sounded like Crucio and Expelliarmus. Lily dove to the ground, dodging Voldemort's spell, and jumped back up to her feet almost as fast. All James could do, however, was look on in horror as Lily fought Voldemort with her amazing charms ability. He made a note to himself to give her more credit for that if they got out of here. Lily's face, he noticed, looked horrified, of course, but also determined. It was as though she was fighting not only for herself, but for someone else, too. James heard footsteps running down the corridor.

"We're in here!" James bellowed, trying to attract some help. But this disrupted Lily's concentration, and before James could help her, she was hit with the Cruciatus curse.

She screamed as she fell to the floor, convulsing. But her screaming stopped almost as soon as it started, for when James looked up, Voldemort had disappeared. He obviously was afraid he might have to face a force of teachers.

However, the cause of the footsteps was only Alex, but Voldemort did not return.

"Lily, Lily! I got your message- Oh my God, James, what happened to her?" she yelled, diving down to her good friend and trying to shake her awake.

"It... it was Voldemort, Alex. We need to get Dumbledore. She seems to be really hurt." He had a strong note of urgency in his voice.

"Kate went to get him. James, are you serious? It was You-Know-Who? But what'd he want with Lily?"

"I really don't know. How'd you know we were in trouble?" he asked.

"Oh, well you know how good Lily is at charms, and the other day we stumbled upon this one that allows you to communicate telepathically if you're really in trouble. Lily, Kate and I decided we shoud try it. We didn't think it would actually work," she explained.

James heard more footsteps coming down the corridor, and Dumbledore and Kate entered the classroom, breathless. Dumbledore magicked up a stretcher and turned to the three consious students.

"James, Alex, Kate, meet me in my office," he said, "The password is 'sugar quill.'" And then he led Lily to the infirmary. James, Alex and Kate didn't say a word to each other until Dumbledore arrived. Dumbledore settled behind his desk and looked at the students over his spectacles.

"James," he started, "like I told you before, you need to be careful. You can't wander around the castle alone anymore, and I'm afraid I don't think Lily should either. For some reason, she is involved in this now, too. Voldemort appears to be targeting both of you."

James gulped, and he heard gasps from the two other girls.

"You all have been very lucky tonight. If it hadn't been for the charm Lily performed with you two girls, James, here, and Lily, might both be dead. Please get back to your dormitory. I need to conduct a full raid of the castle," Dumbledore said. Seeing the strained look on all three of their faces, he added, smiling, "You may visit Lily, but only for a little while."

The three made their way down to the hospital wing to find Lily awake, but very confused. She didn't exactly remember what had happened to her, but the whole ordeal was foggily sitting in her memories. She looked out of the window to try to hide her tears. Her body really hurt.

_Oh, I wish James would go away. I don't want him to see me cry. Wait, why do I care? It's just James_. And then she let tears cascade down her face like a waterfall. Kate draped her arm around Lily, and Alex simply comforted her. James just sort of stared at her awkwardly. Almost like he wished he could do something to help. Within a couple of minutes, Madam Pomfrey shooed James, Alex and Kate out of the wing.

That night, however, James knew he needed to talk to Lily alone. He had to explain to her about what Dumbledore had said. And he had to fill her in about who he truly was himself. At midnight, he slipped on his invisibility cloak and made his way to the hospital wing.

"Lily! Psst.."

"Ahh... Not Harry! Huh... James, what are you doing here?" she said, bewildered.

"Who's Harry?" he asked. _Please don't be a boyfriend_

"Some baby I keep having dreams about. He looks kinda like you actually..." she trailed off.

"I think it's good you're in the hospital wing," he laughed, but he was also very relieved Harry was only a little baby. Wait, why was he so worked up about this Harry kid?

"Whatever, Potter. Anyways, why are you here? _Please_ don't play any jokes on me now. I hurt," she groaned.

"No jokes, Lily. I've got to talk to you. You know Voldemort is now after you right?" he asked.

"Yea, Dumbledore filled me in today. He couldn't tell me why he was after me though. It was weird," she said.

"Did he tell you I actually am Gryffindor's descendant, and that's why he's after me?" he questioned.

"No, he didn't mention that. You're seriously his descendant, James? Is that why you're parents were killed and everything?"

"Yea, I guess."

"But how is that connected to me? Why does he want me too? I don't get it," she muttered.

"Neither do I," said James. "But Lily, you've got to be careful. I know we aren't exactly friends, but if something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

_I did not just say that,_ James thought.

"Okay, what did you do with James Potter?" Lily asked, laughing.

"Yea, well ,what I mean, Lily, is you're a lot more fun to terrorize than a Slytherin," he said, attempting to cover up his last uncomfortable statement.

"Oh," she said. James noticed she sounded a little disappointed. But he said goodnight, and they never spoke of their late-night conversation to anyone.


	13. The Unexpected Kiss

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the greatest writer EVER.**

**A/N: Hey! It's my b-day today! So this is my birthday chapter, sorta. I actually wrote this last weekend, but I'm just typing it up now. Well, I hope you enjoy. There actually is some romance in this chapter. *listens to some cheers and maybe boos* I'm actually turning 15 tomorrow, instead of 14, but name is Kate, and I wish I could be going out with Sirius :). hehe. Well, this year gets more entertaining. I have it all written so please just hang in there with me**.

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 3 - Chapter 3

_The Unexpected Kiss_

It was February 24th, Kate's birthday, and the whole gang had snuck off to Hogsmeade. Well, actually, Peter and Sybill had stayed behind because Sybill "claimed" she Saw herself staying in the common room, and Peter didn't want to leave her _all alone,_ even though the rest of the school was going to be there.

Over the past few months, Alex and Remus had grown quite close. Alex seemed to be fascinated by Remus being a werewolf. She constantly asked him questions about his transformations, and for some reason, Remus seemed to enjoy them. Lily, however, knew that if someone asked her so many questions on the same subject matter, she would probably punch them in the gut. James and Lily were still fighting as usual. They were constantly insulting each other, and pelting curses at each other. And Kate and Sirius flirted with each other non-stop, but still denied they liked each other.

When the gang arrived at Hogsmeade, Alex and Remus decided to go the shrieking shack. Alex really wanted to get a tour of the place where Remus visited every month. And so, the other four, who preferred to stay in town, were stuck together.

"So Kate, how does it feel to be 14?" James asked.

SPLAT!

"Feels wet," she replied. Sirius had just plastered her with a snowball. Kate dug her hands down into the snow and started mashing a handful of it together.

"You're going down Mr. Black!" Kate yelled.

"Oh yea!" he yelled back, while running in a zigzags so Kate couldn't peg him. But she patiently waited for him to run out of breath, and the moment he stopped, she pelted him in the back. Soon they were both dripping wet, but the snowballs were still flying. They were practically rolling in the snow laughing, when an extremely large ball hit Kate in the face.

"Ouch! I'm totally going to get you for that, Sirius!" and she started to round up a huge pile of snow. But when she looked up, Sirius was standing over her with an odd look in his eyes. And then he did something extremely unexpected. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a kiss.

When the pulled away, Kate simply stated smiling, "And you think that's going to stop me from getting you?" And she dropped the giant snowball which she had been hiding behind her back in her other hand on his head.

Both immediately started laughing, and didn't stop until they were lying in a pile of snow in hysterics. It hadn't even been that funny of a statement.

"Happy Birthday, Kate," said an extremely wet Sirius, who was now faced towards Kate in the fresh white snow.

"Thanks, Sirius," she replied, flashing a smile that matched perfectly with his. And with that he pulled her into another kiss. When she pulled away, they stared into each others eyes dreamily.

Finally, Kate snapped out of it. "Hey, where have James and Lily gone?"

"Huh? Ohhh! Wow, I have no idea!" he stated, blankly. The both looked around, but James and Lily were no where to be seen.

James and Lily, who weren't interested in being soaking with freezing snow, had slipped off long ago to Honeydukes, not realizing they were going to miss Kate and Sirius become overrun by hormones.

"No offense," said Sirius, "but I'm rather glad they missed that. I would never hear the end of it from them two."

"Haha! You're telling me!" laughed Kate, nodding. They looked at each other, laughed again, and then set off to find their friends.

Sooner than expected, they ran into Remus and Alex.

"What have you two been up to?" asked Sirius to Remus and Alex.

"Nothing really, just looked around the Shrieking Shack," stated Alex, glancing briefly at Remus.

"Sure, sure..." stated Kate. "You know, I wonder what Lily and James are doing."

At Honeydukes, James and Lily were arguing once again.

"This sucks. I wanted to spend time with Kate, not you," she said to James.

"And I obviously didn't come to Hogsmeade for you," he curtly replied back.

Lily was about to retaliate with a comeback when Professor Karkaroff walked in.

"Ahh! Hide!" Lily ushered quietly to James.

"What's he doing in Honeydukes?" asked James, as they ducked behind a crate of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

They soon found out, however. Instead of buying any sweets, Karkaraff placed a note in a sliver in the wall. After the professor had left, Lily and James went over to the wall to the investigate, but the note was gone. When they looked into the sliver, an evil red eye glared back at them.

Lily yelped, and James grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the store. But in their panicked state, they ran smack into an old warty green witch eating some Bertie Botts. She had been separating all of the disgusting flavors, such as sardine, horseradish, and grass. Unfortunately, when James and Lily crashed into her, the gross beans had somehow been forced into her mouth!

Lily and James yelled apologizes and left the scene quickly before they burst out laughing.

"Did you see her face! She looked like she had eaten dragon dung!" laughed James.

"And may I remind you, those probably tasted worse than even the smelliest dung on this planet!" she giggled back.

Lily then spotted Kate, Sirius, Alex and Remus down the road.

"Hey guys!" yelled Lily, still laughing with James.

The group just gawked at her. James and Lily laughing together? What was happening?

"We're going to head back up to the castle," James said.

The group just stood there.

"I've got tutoring. It was changed to Saturday this week, remember?" Lily said.

The group still just stared at her in shock.

"Alright, we're leaving," said James slowly, looking at the group, suspiciously. He wondered what had gotten into them, but shrugged, and turned back to Honeydukes with Lily to use the secret passage.

"We have got to get them to go to that dance togther," Kate stated, still staring at her two friend's retreating backs. Her statement was followed by nods of agreements from everyone else around her.

**A/N: That's it for this chapter! I hope you like it. The romance is pretty sappy. I can't write romance at all! I'm sorry, I tried. Please send me some constructive criticism if you have any, or just review in any old way. :) I love reviews! (hint, hint) Hey, review for my birthday! PLEASE! Well I g2jet! Later days**


	14. Popping the Question

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the greatest writer EVER.**

**A/N: This is the chapter before the dance... May be a little confusing, but if you just hang with me, I'm sure you'll understand it by the next chapter.**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 3 - Chapter 4

_Popping the Question_

June was rapidly approaching and all of Hogwarts's students were overcome with anxiety. It seemed no one could wait for the dance, which was scheduled for June 25th, the day before the end of term. Even though the dance was only a month away, most people still did not have dates. One day, in DADA with their teacher of that year, Professor Babilon, James and Lily were having a very interesting conversation, which Lily noticed, Kate and Sirius were trying desperately to inconspicuously overhear.

"So Lily, who do you want to go to the dance with?" James asked.

"Oh, no one in particular," she said, although she felt a few butterflies flutter in her stomach when he asked. But why?

_She's got gorgeous eyes,_ James thought. _Man, when did she get so pretty?_

"Erm, hello James? James? EARTH TO JAMES!" Lily bellowed into his ear.

"Huh? Oh sorry." He turned away so she couldn't see him blush. Had he really just been staring absentmindedly at Lily?

*****

That night at quidditch practice, Kate and Sirius stayed after to talk to Anna and Rosie, the quidditch captains.

"Hey Anna and Rosie, Kate and I need some help," Sirius started. "See, we really want to get James and Lily to go to this dance, but we can't think of anything. And we thought, hey, you guys are good at coming up with strategies on the quidditch pitch, so maybe you would be able to help us think of something."

"Heck yeah! We just set up one of roommates with Clinton Miller. Let's keep the roll going," replied Anna.

Rosie furrowed her brow. "Hmmm... I don't know Lily like I do James. What do they have in common?" asked Rosie.

Kate and Sirius stood there stumped for some time until Kate started to list the few things she could think of. "Well, they're smart, like pranks, and uhh... their friends with us."

Anna and Rosie's eyes both widened at this last statement.

"Oh! That's it! This is going to be soooo good!" Anna squealed, high-fiving Rosie. The two sixth years, sat there congratulating each other for some time until Sirius interrupted them.

"Would you mind filling us in?" said Sirius rather impatiently.

"Oh sorry! Well, Kate, you ask James, and Sirius, you ask Lily!" said Rose, excitedly.

Both third years stared at the sixth years, bewildered.

"Oh don't you get it? You end up going to the dance with them, but at the dance you each ditch them, and then they conveniently are stuck with each other," she said as if she thought this was obvious.

"And how exactly do we ditch them?" asked Kate.

"I know you two are clever enough to think of something. I don't know exactly how you should do it. Maybe you could hurt yourselves, tell them you fell for each other... anything. Just as long as they get stuck with each other," replied Anna.

"You know that might actually work," said Sirius.

"Thanks girls," Kate smiled, and then she and Sirius walked back to the castle.

***

There were three weeks until the dance, and Lily and James had both been asked a handful of times, both refusing all proposals. This made Kate and Sirius slightly uneasy.

"Hey Sirius, what if they turn us down?" asked Kate, nervously.

"They won't say no to us," replied Sirius confidently, although he really was just as worried as Kate.

***Meanwhile***

"I wonder what they're constantly talking about. I keep bugging Sirius but he won't fill me in about anything. He won't even gush about Kate anymore like he used to, and I'm positive he still likes her. You have any ideas?" James questioned Lily.

Since Kate's birthday, Lily and James had been very civil to each other, although they still woke up with a different hair of color regularly, and were able to easily connect it to the other's evil-doing. At that precise moment, Lily was quite frustrated with a potions essay and rather rudely responded to James.

"How am I supposed to know what they're up to?"

Before James could snap back, Sirius had come up to Lily.

"Hey Lily, can I talk to you?"

And then Kate asked James the same thing.

Sirius led Lily over to the corner of the room. Lily noticed immediately he looked extremely nervous. Before she could question him of anything, he popped a question she wasn't expecting.

"Will you go to the dance with me?"

"What? Sorry, I mean, yea, of course! But I thought you liked Kate?" she questioned.

"We're just friends," he said quickly. Too quickly, Lily noticed. And he also wasn't looking her in the eyes and was blushing furiously.

"So you'll go with me?" he asked, still staring at the floor.

"Oh course, Sirius," she replied, but she couldn't help feeling disappointed, and she didn't exactly know why. After all, he was one of her best friends.

"Well, I've got to jet to the library." And he pulled Kate away from the very awkward-looking conversation she was having with James.

Lily turned to James, who was standing with his mouth open looking like a very confused fish out of water.

"That was... interesting," he finally said.

"Don't tell me. Kate asked you to the dance, huh?" Lily questioned.

"Yea... how'd you know?" he asked back raising his eyebrow.

"I could feel the presence of.. of.. Well, I could just See it," she said mystically, mocking Sybill.

James chuckled. "No really, how did you know?"

"Ahh, you don't believe in my ability to see into the future?" she said, smiling. But then she answered James's question. "Sirius just asked me, so I figured Kate asked you."

"What?! Sirius asked you? Did you say yes?" James sounded almost panicked.

"Well... of course. I can't turn down one of my best friends. You said yes to Kate, right?" she replied.

"Wha- oh yeah," he mumbled.

"Well, James, I better go. This potions essay isn't going to finish itself. I'll see you around."

"Bye."

***

A week before the dance the Gryffindors were in a very interesting DADA class. Well at least Lily thought it was interesting. But she was the only one listening. Actually, no, it looked like James was listening too. Lily supposed he was so quiet because Kate and Sirius were absorbed in conversation, Alex and Remus, who were going to the dance together, were passing notes to each other, and Peter and Sybill hadn't shown up to class completely, which was quite unusual, so James didn't have anyone to talk to. Lily reverted her attention away from James and back to Professor Babilon.

"Death is one thing that is nearly impossible for magic to overcome. There is only one countercurse that can overcome death. And that is love to its fullest extent. If you love something with your full heart, you can save it from the most harmful curses, even Avada Kedavra. It rarely works, however. It has to be so pure and true that it is nearly impossible for a single soul to feel this for another human being.

"The human mind is made to have at least a shred of distrust towards every other person. However," he added, almost as though it was an afterthought, "I have some of the qualities of a Seer. I think that one of you may use your love to say another soul in the future." His eyes flicked to Lily.

After the lesson, Lily was lost in thought. Does anyone love her enough to save her from death?

"Pretty awesome lesson, huh, Evans?" said James, who had walked out of the classroom behind her.

"Yeah. I didn't realize love could be so powerful. Anyways, excited for the dance?"

"Yeah, I guess," he replied.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic," Lily pointed out.

"I dunno. I just don't think that Kate wants to go with me at all. I bet she'll end up ditching me for Sirius. No offense or anything. I know Sirius is your date, but they just are together so much..." he trailed off.

"I know what you mean," she replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were planning to ditch us from the start as some sort of joke."

James laughed a little at this. "If they're up to anything of the sort, we'll get them back good." He flashed Lily a half-smile and walked away with Remus.

Lily stood rooted to that spot for a moment.

"Miss Evans, can I help you?" asked Professor Babilon, who had stepped out of his classroom.

"Oh no, I'm fine," she replied embarrassed, and hurried off to the Gryffindor common room.

**A/N: Ok, that's it for this chapter! I'm almost done writing the next chapter now, too. It's going to be VERY dramatic. Well, hopefully. I'm going to the bsb concert tomorrow night so I gotta go to bed now. Later days. PLEASE REVIEW!**!


	15. The Dance

**Disclaimer: All of the basic ideas and concepts obviously belong to the amazing J.K Rowling, along with the marauders and most of the teachers. A few things, and I mean a few, are mine though... (Kate, Alex, and well... the plot)**

**A/N: The dance is finally here, but some crazy things occur that haven't happened in any stories I've read out there. Please R/R... It's the only thing that keeps me going. I really want to get to 200, although, I'm not quite sure it will happen as I'm only at 80 or something. Here's the next chapter, I think it's pretty long so I hope you enjoy!**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 3 - Chapter 5

_The Dance_

It was the day of the dance and Lily was playing exploding snap with Kate and Alex in the common room. Sybill was already getting ready, even though the dance wouldn't begin for another 6 hours.

"So excited to go with Sirius, Lily?" Kate asked casually, although she was obviously trying to hide a note of panic in her voice. It was almost as though Kate thought Lily actually liked Sirius. Lily silently giggled to herself, and decided to pay a little game on her friend.

"Oh yes! I'm so excited to go with him! I mean he's the cutest boy in our year. I was even considering asking him out after the dance," she said enthusiastically.

"Really?" Kate said, now unable to visibly hide the horror she was feeling.

"I mean, I won't if you don't want me to. You two were an item or whatever, but I just thought since he asked me to the dance he'd want to go out with me," she said, having a horrible time of trying to keep her face serious. She had to bite her lip to stop the gales of laughter from escaping her mouth.

During this, in Lily's opinion, hilarious conversation, James, Sirius, and Remus all walked down the stairs from their dormitory. Remus quickly stole Alex away, and Kate immediately grabbed Sirius's arm and led him out of the portrait hole, muttering something about needing to talk to him about that project they were working on. Lily just watched them go with a smug smile on her face.

"What just happened?" James questioned.

"I just told Kate that I'm asking Sirius out after the dance," said Lily, eyes twinkling.

"You are?!" James exclaimed.

"Oh no, or course not-"

"But you just said-"

"If you would let me finish, I'll explain. I said I _told her_ I was going to ask him. Of course I'm not actually going to ask him. He's one of my best friends!" she said, as though she was stating the obvious.

"Okay Lily, I'm lost. What's going on here? Why did you say you were going to ask him out?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed, but obviously intrigued.

"So you're finally interested in something Lily's done," she said smugly, but continued. "I'm sure you've noticed that Sirius and Kate are obviously up to something foul. They like each more than that stupid Greek god Narcissus likes himself. Yet, they still asked us to the dance. Nothing here adds up at all. I mean, I know I told you in our second year Kate's never been taken with you because of your overlarge head."

"Hey! I don't have an overlarge head!" replied James angrily back.

"You've improved James, but I've known her long enough to know that she wouldn't ask you to the dance even though she thinks you one of cutest guys in our year. She'd wait for a guy to ask her instead. Something fishy is definitely going on."

James, however, wasn't happy. How dare Lily say that he was conceited, and a pretty girl like Kate wouldn't ask him unless she had a very good reason. He was simply too mad to articulate a string of words other than, "Whatever, Evans." And then he stormed up to his dormitory.

"James.. Wait!" Lily called, but too late, he had disappeared. She turned in her seat, to force herself to look away from the boys dormitory. However, then she was facing some 1st year boy goggling at her beauty.

"Yuck," she mumbled. With that, she went up to her dorm to start to get ready with Sybill.

***

In the boys dorm, James was beside himself with rage. He had to get Lily back, but how would he do it exactly?

About a half hour later, Sirius returned from his conversation with Kate.

"Hey James, do you like Kate?" he questioned cautiously. He could tell his friend was fuming over something.

"No," James replied curtly.

"Whoa. What's bit your buns?" Sirius asked.

James however chose to ignore the comment and simply drew his scarlet curtains around himself while lying in his bed.

When the dance was about to start, the four couples met in the common room. Lily was wearing the dress her parents had given her when she was eleven. It now fit her perfectly, making her figure look skinny, yet surprisingly mature. The straps of the dress were made with rhinestones, and they simply glittered on her shoulders. Her hair was half up and curls flipped throughout the bottom. She was wearing a bit more makeup than usual, which made her eyes sparkle spectacularly.

Kate was wearing a light blue short dress which brought out her sapphire-like eyes. The dress was open back and her long blonde hair was curled and draped down her back. Her eyes shown brightly from under a bit of light grey, sparkly eyeshadow and black mascara.

Alex was wearing a knee-length maroon dress trimmed with black beads. Her dirty blonde hair was up in a beautiful bun, in which curls were spilling out. Her hair was littered with black jewels, which matched those on her dress. Her green-brown eyes were dramatized with a bit of golden-brown eyeshadow and mascara. The three girls looked stunning.

Sybill, however, was another story. She was wearing so much glitter and her dress shown so many colors, that she resembled a cross between a caterpillar and a Chinese dragon. It wasn't a very pretty sight.

Remus, Sirius, and James all looked very nice in their dress robes. James was in a dark forest green, Remus was in a deep plum purple, and Sirius was in a semi-dark grey, that actually suited his black hair. Peter was in a horrible murky orange. He looked awful, but he matched up alright with Sybill.

As the four met in the common room, Kate and Sirius noticed that Lily and James seemed very upset with each other and gave each other irritated looks. After an awkward greeting, the four made their way downstairs. When they finally reached the Great Hall, they were greeted by music from the Bewitching Bunch.

Soon nearly everyone was on the dance floor. James couldn't help continually glancing at Lily. She looked so beautiful, and this just made him madder. They green dress made her practically glow. He felt his insides bubble irrationally with anger. Really why was he so mad though? It's not like Lily had never told him that he had had a large head. He glanced at her again, laughing with Sirius.

_I have to do something,_ he thought wildly to himself. And without even thinking, he kissed Kate.

When he pulled away, he heard a number of different angry voices.

"James, what the bloody hell do you think are you doing?!"

(A/N: Wouldn't it be evil if I ended it here? Muhahahah. I've been considering it, but I won't though... Read on!)

"Oh my God," he heard himself gasp.

Sirius elbowed his way over to James, dragging Lily.

"What the hell are you doing? I thought you said you didn't like her!" he hollered. "And you kissing him back!" he turned to Kate. "You know what? You do it, I do it!" He pulled Lily into a kiss, but she pulled away quickly.

"Sirius!" he heard Kate scream. "Bloody hell! You actually think I tried to kiss James? You're crazy! I didn't even make the move! But you, Sirius! You just forced that kiss with Lily! After all we've done to try to get these two together!" Kate stopped suddenly. She had said too much.

"What?!" James had finally found his voice and was outraged. "You tried to get Lily and me together? Have you both gone utterly mad?!"

"Thanks for spilling the beans, Kate," Sirius snapped, but he was looking at her with apologetic eyes.

Lily was in shock during the whole conversation. Sirius had just kissed her, James had just kissed Kate, and her two "best friends" had just tried to hook her up with her worst enemy. It just wasn't right! Lily saw Alex and Remus walking towards them, but turn around when they saw the angry faces of their four best friends.

James had noticed them, too. Before they could disappear, James yelled to them, "Were you two in on this, too?"

"Um... in on what?" said Alex, innocently. Too innocently.

"I can't believe all of you!" Lily exclaimed. "Yes you too, James! How dare you four try to set me and James up. We're enemies! And you James, how dare you kiss Kate just because I said you couldn't get her. And you Sirius, how dare you use me to get back at Kate!"

"I didn't kiss Kate because I didn't think I could get her," mumbled James.

Lily rolled her eyes.

James looked down at the floor. Why had he kissed Kate? He knew he didn't like her. Why had he been so angry with Lily? Was he feeling rage, or rather jealousy, that he wasn't the one Lily had gone to the dance with? He stopped at this point, mentally punched himself, then tuned back into the conversation Lily and Sirius were now having.

"Lily, I'm sorry for kissing you. I was just so incredibly angry with Kate and James, and it was the first thing I could think of that would piss both of them off," he said. "I know it wasn't right, and I'm truly sorry," Sirius said.

Lily was about to say she accepted his apology, but that she didn't want to be his date anymore, when she was interrupted by James.

"Why would I be upset if you kissed Lily?" he asked.

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe because you like-"

"Sirius, drop it," said Alex sternly.

"Ok, ok, but it did piss you off, didn't it?" asked a smiling Sirius.

"What? No way!" James lied quickly. "It was just Evans."

There was an awkward silence, and Lily seized the opportunity to tell Sirius that she was going up to the common room now and he would have to find a new date.

"But I thought you liked Sirius?" Kate interrupted, cutting Lily off.

"Kate, I'm surprised you fell for that one. Of course I don't like Sirius. He's more like a brother to me than anything. I could tell you two were up to NO GOOD, so I thought I'd play a part in your game. Worked, huh?" she said to Sirius and Kate's stunned faces. "But I really need to get out of here. I'm still mad at both of you. I'll see you tomorrow." And she briskly walked off to the Gryffindor common room.

The five stood there awkwardly for a couple of moments until Sirius broke the silence. "I still say they like each other."

"Ugh! Sirius come off it!" exclaimed James, and he too stalked off towards the Gryffindor common room.

"Woops."

"Yea, woops is right, Sirius. Thanks for losing me my date," Kate said.

"Listen Kate, I'm sorry," he said, sounding sincerely apologetic.

Kate 'hmphed' in response.

"I don't know what came over me back there. I was overcome with so much rage and _jealousy, _honestly, when I saw you and James kissing. I had to do something. I couldn't control myself. I feel so horrible for hurting you like that. I know you already know this, but I totally like you. Please forgive me?" he asked nervously, and he could hardly breathe waiting for her response.

Kate met Sirius eyes, and couldn't hide a smile. "Oh, of course I forgive you, Sirius. After all, I screwed up, too. Do you forgive me?" she asked.

"Completely. So... since we don't have dates, will you be mine?"

"Surely," she responded happily.

"At least that part of the plan worked out right," said Sirius, sarcastically.

"Hey, you know what? Our plan may have worked out better than we expected!" said Kate, suddenly excited.

"What are you talking about Kate. Everything that could have gone wrong did!" exclaimed Remus, who had just rejoined Kate and Sirius's conversation with Alex.

"No, no, what Kate's saying is now James are Lily are _all alone_ in the common room!" said Alex, enthusiastically.

"Oh that's right! Dumbledore let the first and second year's have a camp-out in the dungeons since they couldn't go to the dance!" Sirius yelped.

The four grinned triumphantly at each other, then patted each other on the back.

*****

Lily was sitting in the common room, fuming, when she heard the portrait hole open. She glanced up and saw James.

"What are you doing, Evans?" James asked, as he saw her staring at him.

"Same thing you are, I suppose. Escaping from our so-called friends," she said, impatiently.

"I want to escape from you more than them," James replied, irritated.

"What _is_ your problem James? Seriously?" Lily asked, her eyes flashing, vividly angry.

"I just can't handle you. And do you want to know why I kissed Kate? I kissed her because of you," he said, and he stormed off to his dormitory.

"What in the bloody hell was that supposed to mean?" she yelled up at James, but he had already disappeared into his dormitory.

"Ugh. He is so immature. Yet cute when he's mad," she mumbled. And for the first time, she didn't argue back with herself.

***

Sooner than everyone expected, the dance was over, their bags were packed, and everyone was making their way to the Hogwarts Express. After a long ride home, on which James and Lily accepted their friends' apologies, Lily was on the sunny platform 9 3/4. Lily was just about to go through the barrier, when Sirius pulled her aside.

"Hey Lily, I've never seen James so worked up over anyone. I know you've heard this a thousand times, but I truly think he likes you."

"Whatever, Sirius."

"Lily, I mean it. He said some things to me last night about you ..."

"What'd he say?" she asked, intrigued.

"Sirius! Come on!" James yelled.

"Lily, I got to go. I'll write you!" he hollered, as he ran to James and through the barrier, leaving a bewildered Lily behind.

**A/N: Ok this is the end! I've got some great ideas for the next year, but I want to get to 100 before I continue so please R/R. I'm sorry this chapter sucked. Now that I've read over it, I really don't like it.**

**Actually, I feel evil saying I won't write if I don't get 100 reviews. Just review if you want. I would really appreciate it if I did get 100 though! :)**


	16. Summer to School

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, as everyone knows, except the characters I created.**

**A/N: Alrighty... I'm finally getting the next chapter out. Thank you sooo much for all of the reviews. I appreciate it more than anything! I totally wasn't excepting to actually reach 100! Next goal... 200! haha. no j/k. Maybe by the time I finish this I'll be at 200. I'm thinking about writing 35 chapters. I know it sounds like a lot, but it's really only 5 chapters per year, and I'm sure most of you have noticed that my chapters aren't exactly super long. I can't just sit down and write a whole long chapter. I have to break them up. Well, I've tried to make this chapter a bit better than the last. And I have a very interesting lesson coming up in one of the future chapters of this year. Hopefully it will get you all thinking about what magic really is... Sorry this A/N is soo long, but I hope you enjoy this chap and R/R please! Thanks again!  
Love, Kate**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 4 - Chapter 1

_Summer to School_

"The sun will come out tomorrow," Lily found herself singing for the millionth time that summer. This song was one of her favorites from the movie _Annie_. When she was little, she had sung a solo in her choir to the piece, and that solo marked the proudest moment of her childhood. For that was a time when her peers actually admired her singing ability, and did not shun her for her "abnormalties." Ever since then, she had sung the song when she was depressed. It had always seemed to somewhat brighten her day, for it brought back memories of the shocked, yet impressed faces of her classmates. And today, for Lily, marked one of the worst days of her summer.

She was locked in her room, hiding from her malevolent sister, Petunia, and her parents were off vacationing in the Italian countryside. They claimed it was for business, but Lily believed that that was just an excuse. Petunia had become ruthlessly obnoxious, and Lily suspected she had been making hell at 4 Privet Drive while she had been at school.

See, Petunia had a new boyfriend (who was fatter than an elephant itself), and somehow this made her think she was even more superior to everyone else. She droned on and on and on about him, making Lily want to pull her hair out entirely. His name was Vernon Dursley, and he was a new associate at a drill company. How riveting. He seemed about as dense as a block of lead, and even more narrow-minded. And he was ugly. Big, fat, and ugly. Yet from the way that Petunia gushed about him, Lily would have thought he would have been at least half as cute as James Potter.

Lily stopped herself. Wait, did she just think about James as cute? Okay, yes, he was cute. She still hated him though. Maybe. Truth-be-told, she was really curious about what Sirius didn't say to her at the end of term about James. Did James no longer hate her? If he didn't hate her, then did she still hate him? Lily shrugged. Whether she and James still hated each other or not, Lily's parents were gone, and could not protect her from Petunia, and also were going to miss her 14th birthday.

Lily didn't object to her parent's decision to take a vacation. She actually encouraged them to take some time to relax. But now she was definitly regretting her decision to allow them to leave her with Petunia. More-often-than-not, Lily found herself in her room with nothing more than her stuffed bears, including the one James gave her, and her owl, Oe, for company. Oe had been her best friend this summer, but he had become grossly sick. He had to stay in his cage and take disgusting owl pellets that resembled bits of rat dung. Lily felt extremely sorry for her loving friend, and decided to keep him safe and not send him on any treks. This, however, meant she couldn't write letters to her friends. She had made hardly any contact with them all summer. James and Sirius had sent her a couple letters here and there, and Kate and Alex had stopped by her house twice. She had kept the best contact with Remus, but he now too was on vacation in Majorca. It appeared to Lily that her birthday was going to be a very gloomy and grim experience, indeed.

As days passed, Lily couldn't help feeling a longing for Hogwarts; the classes, the beds, the atmosphere, the teachers, and most importantly, her friends. On the day of Lily's birthday, she woke up with a bit of a pit in her stomach, hoping, but not expecting any presents or acknowledgement of her birthday at all. But the feeling quickly disappeared as she noticed a pile of gifts on her bed, just like Christmas. Excited, Lily began to open the first card.

**Dear Lily,  
How's your summer been going? Sorry we haven't written all that much, but we were just in Paris. It was aboslutely amazing. That's where we bought the gifts, in case you're wondering. Hope you like them! Happy 14th!  
Love,  
Kate and Alex**

After Lily opened the gift, she was overwhelmed with mountains of delicious looking pastries and wonderful smelling perfumes. They were wonderful. She then turned to her next present, which was from Sybill and Peter. It was the fowlest bracelet she had ever seen in her whole life. It shown a million different murky colors. It looked like a cross between Sybill and Peter's outfits at the end of the year dance. She quickly put the bracelet back in its box and set it aside while wrinkling her nose.

Next, she opened a present from Sirius.

**Hey Lily,  
How's your summer so far? Sorry I haven't been able to keep contact with you. Dad claims he absolutley needs the family owl for work, although I stole him so I could send you your present. The present I have to say is pretty cool. I'm sure you'll find use for it, but don't be alarmed if it moves. That's normal. Well, I really miss you. I think Jamsieboy here does, too. Ouch! I have a bruised arm now because of that comment (James is watching what I write). Anyways, write back and we can set up a time to meet in Diagon Alley to get our supplies.  
Sirius**

Intrigued, Lily opened the present. To her amazement, she saw that it was... it was... a quill? What kind of joke was Sirius playing on her now? Cautious, Lily reached down to pick up the quill and she felt her finger grasp the soft bristles of the feather, which were suddenly black, moving, and had 8 legs.

"Eight legs," she mumbled. "Ahh! Eight legs!"

The quill had turned into a tarantula! She threw it across the room, but to her surprise, as soon as it was out of her hand, it turned back into a quill. After she felt her heart slow down to a normal speed, Lily began to feel a bit of pleasure and excitement. This present would make for an awesome prank on Lucius Malfoy, who never seemed to be supplied with a quill, and always had to borrow one.

Next she turned to a box of Bertie Botts from James, along with a short note.

**Dear Pickle Eyes  
Happy Birthday! Hope you choke on a sardine flavoured bean!  
Love,  
James**

She laughed at the letter a picked out a strawberry jam bean, her favourite flavor.

Now she turned to the two presents left on her bed. One was a box of chocolate frogs (her favorite candy) from Remus. The other was a tiny, rectangular box.

Curious, she searched for a card, but couldn't find one. Disturbed, but excited, she opened the present and gasped. It was the most beautiful necklace she had ever laid eyes on. The necklace was a small sparkling emerald encircled by a golden lily. When she touched it, she felt a rush of adrenalin pour through her. She slipped it on and looked in the mirror. It fit perfectly. It was slightly shorter than her locket, so the two did not overlap in the slightest. They were practicaly the same color gold, so they also did not clash. Lily was quite puzzled by the expensive and anonymous present. Who would send her such a nice gift? Surely it wasn't her parents. They would have left a card, plus they said they would celebrate her birthday with her when they returned home. And of course it wasn't Petunia...

She pushed the thought out of her mind as she turned to her opened gifts. Her friends had just given her the most wonderful birthday presents. Lily couldn't help feeling delighted, even though she would have to spend the rest of the day with Petunia, or in her lonely room.

After little to no thought, Lily decided to stay in her room and write thank-you notes to her friends. She arranged to meet her friends, except Sybill and Peter, in Diagon Alley on August 31st, and then that night they would all sleep over at Sirius's house and travel to King's Cross Station together.

On August 31st, Lily's parents dropped her off at the Leaky Cauldron with her Hogwarts trunk and a very full money bag, as she needed new robes along with her school supplies. She stowed her trunk in the Leaky Cauldron with Tom the inkeeper, and began a trek to Gringotts to exchange her muggle money for wizarding money. As she made her way over to the white stone building, an unpleasant feeling came over her. The feeling that she was being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she couldn't help nervously looking around.

She stopped and observed what was happening in the packed magical street. A group of children were bundled in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies as usual, and others were bustling in and out of shops. An old green witch was singing to a group of passerby's asking for money, like those in muggle underground stations. Lily laughed at herself for feeling so uncomfortable. After all, she hadn't been in the wizarding world for a couple of months, as she had been living with her Muggle family. She just had to get back into the swing of things.

She took a few more paces, but had to stop again. She just couldn't shake the feeling. She started to get angry with herself, and turned to walk again, but stopped dead. Out of no where, a black cloaked figure put a hand over her mouth and grabbed her. She struggled with all her might, flailing her arms and hitting every part of the attacker's body she could.

She heard a muffled, "Ouch!" come from inside the cloak, but didn't stop punching the attacker until she heard-

"Lily! Lily! Stop beating up James!" It was Sirius, and he was running towards her.

"James?" she gasped.

"Yes, James," said the attacker, who had torn off his cloak. Sure enough, it revealed her messy-haired, brown-eyed, but rather cute, worst, or maybe best, enemy.

"UGH! You scared me to death!" she grumbled, but smiled in relief, none the less.

"And we're happy to see you, too!" teased Sirius.

"You guys really are immature, did you know?" she replied.

"Nah... We just have fun with life! High five Jamsie-boy!" cried Sirius.

As James reached up, he immediately winced in pain. "Dang Lily, I think you've given me a dead arm. When'd you get so strong?"

"I guess my workouts with Petunia have finally paid off. But what are you actually saying, James, that I beat you up? Did I beat up the famous James Potter?" she asked glowing.

"Haha... NO. You just got in a lucky punch. I bet you couldn't beat me up if you tried. Come on," he laughed, pulling a tricky wrestling move on her and forcing her into a headlock.

"Ouch! Ok! Ok! You win! I'm sorry!" she yelped in pain, but she, too, was overcome with giggles. "Be aware that I will get you back, Potter."

"Sure you will..." he said, feeding her his famous half-smile. "So Sirius... Sirius? Hey! Where'd he go?"

"He seems to have found Kate," said Lily amused. "And there's Alex and Remus."

Soon the whole gang met up and began to discuss their summers. They bought their supplies together and went back to Sirius's house by floo powder (a new experience for Lily). Lily was shocked, but rather pleased, with the actual appearance of a wizarding house. Sirius's house was rather messy, yet cozy. Mrs. Black claimed the mess came from the two 14-year-old boys who were constantly planting pranks and tricks around the house. There was an interesting clock on the mantelpiece that had hands of everyone in the house, including herself. She was quite puzzled by two hands on the clock, however. They were James's great-great grandparents, and they were currently stationed at James's house. She knew it probably wouldn't be proper to ask about them, but she couldn't help herself.

"Hey James? Why are your great-great grandparents at your house?" she asked as politely as she could.

"Because they live there, Lily," he said, but not in a rude tone.

Now Lily was quite confused. "If they live there, then why do you live here?"

"Well, my great-great grandparents are 189-years-old, and aren't exactly fit enough to take care of a maniac 14-year-old like myself. So I basically live over here with Sirius. I still go over to my house sometimes because they just basically stay in their room, and then Sirius and I can have the house all to ourselves. My house is right next door. It's the scarlet house with the gold trim. Don't say it looks like the Gryffindor common room because I already know," he said, cutting off Lily in mid-sentence. "I think we're going to actually stay over at my house tonite. It's just a bit more spacious, and we won't disturb anyone if we make loud noises. My great-great grandparent's room is soundproof, thank goodness."

"Cool," said Lily. She really couldn't think of anything else to say. She didn't know how sensitive James was talking about his old house or family, and she didn't want to test him. She just couldn't imagine if her parents died...

"So... Would you lot like to see my room?" asked a cheerful Sirius.

"Most certainly," Kate began, but Mr. Black cut her off.

"Uh uh Sirius. You're not taking anyone up to that room with it in the state that it's in. I think the best plan would be if you all ate some dinner then headed over to James's place."

"YES FOOD! Come on guys!" cried Sirius, bounding into the kitchen.

Laughing, the gang headed into the kitchen. They were overwhelmed with scrumptious chicken pot pie, dinner rolls, and a garden salad. The desert consisted of a bread pudding, and the meal was concluded with a steaming mug of hot cocoa. At about 11 o'clock, when the gang was actually quite tired, they headed over to James's house. His house was beautiful. It reminded Lily of an old Victorian house. It had 12 different rooms, all with different themes. The dinning room was a lovely red, and the room she, Alex, and Kate were staying in was a periwinkle blue. The boys room was green. Everyone quickly got ready for bed and settled down in their sleeping bags. At 1 o'clock Lily woke up with chills, afraid she was coming down with the flu.

"Oh don't be getting sick, Lily," she mumbled. She curled up into a tight ball, but couldn't get comfortable. Unable to sleep, she went downstairs to make herself a cup of tea.

Meanwhile, in the boy's room, James was also having trouble sleeping. He never realized Remus snored so loudly. He decided he would take a blanket downstairs and try to sleep there. He crept down the stairs, and was surprised to see a light on in the kitchen.

_Peculiar_, he thought, but he didn't feel awake enough to investigate. He sat down on the couch, grabbed his Quidditch Through the Ages book, and silently began to read. He only looked up when he heard-

"James? Why are you down here?"

"Lily? I couldn't sleep. Don't ever stay in a room with Remus if you don't have a wand with you to put a silencing charm on him. I never knew he could snore so incredibly loud, even though I've slept in the same dormitory with him for the past 3 years. What brings you down here?" he asked.

"I woke up with chills. I thought I was getting the flu, but now there gone and I feel fine, other than the fact that I'm wide awake. I decided to make some tea, there's some more in the kitchen if you want some."

"Great. I'll be right back," he replied, and disappeared through the kitchen doors. When he came back, Lily was under his blanket reading his book.

"Hey!" he began.

"You didn't call bubbles," she replied, happily.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"Oh nevermind. It's a Muggle thing," she mumbled.

"Right... Anyways, get out from under my blanket. Go get your own if you want one," he said.

"I'm too lazy. If you don't want me using this, go get me another one," she laughed at his pouty face.

"I guess I'm just going to have to force you out, aren't I?" he replied, now unable to hide a smile.

"I guess so," she giggled back. He then pounced on the couch, and began a mad fight for the blanket, in which James actually got kicked quite a few times.

"Wow, Lily, gotten violent, haven't we?" he said, struggling to hold on to the blanket.

"That's what I get living with Petunia. It's not my fault," she responded, tugging at the blanket.

"You know what? I give up. Let's share. You take that end of the couch with that end of the blanket. I'll take this end," he said, pointing to the area of the couch were he was sitting.

Reluctantly she agreed. After about an hour of talking about quidditch and school, the two were sound asleep.

***

"Anyone have a camera?"

"I wish."

"They're so cute!"

_Who in the world is that_, Lily wondered. She was so comfortable and warm, she didn't feel like moving. Then she realized that was her friends talking, and she was on the couch, and she wasn't by herself.

She wrenched her eyes open, and "AHH!" "What am I doing with him?" she yelped.

"We were wondering the same thing," replied a pleased-looking Sirius.

She had been sleeping with James Potter! GROSS! She had somehow ended up on his chest, and his arm was around her. She jumped up off the couch like she had just been electrocuted, and ran up the stairs to the girl's room, followed by Alex and Kate.

James was just now waking up. "Whatcha looking at?" he asked Sirius and Remus.

"You were just sleeping with Lily," they replied in unison.

"I don't see any lilies. There's a vase of roses over there," he mumbled. He obviously wasn't fully awake.

"No, Lily Evans," said Sirius.

"What about her?" James grumbled.

"You slept with her! Don't you remember?" questioned Remus.

"Haha! Funny joke! Evans and I? No way," he laughed back.

"Fine, suit yourself," Sirius said, and walked away with Remus.

_What's gotten in to those two?_ he thought. Then he looked down and saw two empty glasses of tea.

"Oh my-! Sirius! Remus! Wait! Did I seriously sleep with Lily?" he exclaimed.

They both nodded, and he stared at them, dumbfounded, opening and closing his mouth, but not saying anything.

"I'm starving. Let's go get some breakfast and then hit the road," said Sirius, breaking the silence, watching James's shocked face contently.

Remus shrugged, and James followed the two other boys, obviously thinking about something, or someone, else.

During the car ride to the station and train ride to Hogwarts Lily and James did not talk. They were too embarrassed to even glance at each other for more than a couple of seconds. Surprisingly, their friends didn't tease them too much about the incident. In fact, they hardly talked about it all. After a very uneventful train ride, where everyone played chess and exploding snap, the students began to make their way up to Hogwarts. James couldn't take it anymore. He had to talk to Lily. Before they entered the Great Hall, James pulled her aside.

"Lily, listen, about last night... I seriously have no idea what happened," he said. "I'm really sorry. I swear I didn't mean to-"

"I know James. Look, I'm sorry, too," she said. They stood there for a couple of moments, rather awkwardly, not saying anything.

"We still hate each other, right?" James finally asked.

"Erm... right," said Lily. "Look we better get to the feast before we get detention or something."

"Right," he mumbled. And he watched her enter the Great Hall with a bit of longing in his eyes, not sure if the past night's events had been a curse or a blessing.

**A/N: ****Alrighty****! That's it! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review! I love getting feedback on what I've written. It seriously motivates me so much to get the next chapter out. Thanks!**


	17. The Beginning

**Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, as everyone knows, except the characters I created.**

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I had absolutely NO TIME last weekend to do any writing whatsoever. Well... this is the next chapter, obviously. It's a bit shorter than the last one, but it has a LOT of action. It sorta ends in a cliffy (SORRY, I had no where else to go with it), but it will all be answered in the next chapter. Also, the lecture with Professor Armando was told to me by a magician/clown named Armando in Las Vegas. If you ever see the circus, "O", he's supposed to be one of the clowns in the very beginning, who also reappear throughout the show. Anyways, his lecture totally fascinated me... what **_**exactly**_** is magic? Well, review if you get the chance (PLEASE), and I hope you enjoy this!  
Love, Kate**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 4 - Chapter 2

_The Beginning_

It was a cool, crisp Saturday morning, and James had woken up early to get a bit of fresh air on his new broom, a Silver Arrow. After he had made his way out to the quidditch pitch, and pushed off into the air, he couldn't help but leave all of his troubles from the past week behind. He felt at ease and free as he soared through the air. It was just so perfect and right. As the wind blew though his already messy hair, and he felt the cool September sun beat down upon his back, he felt himself finally start to reflect the past week's events.

His first week of classes hadn't been that horrible. Professor Karakaroff was still as evil as ever in potions, and McGonagall was still extremely strict, but the school did have a new DADA teacher (what a surprise). His name was Professor Armando, and he was actually a very smart and interesting man. He had brought grindylows for their first lesson, which the fourth years were all supposed to learn about in their previous year, and it had actually been a pretty fascinating lesson.

But, still, during the week, something definitely was missing. Yes, Lily Evans. So far, their constant fights and pranks had been competely absent. They hadn't spoken a word since their awkward conversation during the welcoming banquet. And although he didn't want to admit it, he knew he missed her. But how could he be? It was Evans! His stomach gave a growl. Hungry already? James decided to head to the kitchens and feast on some chocolate chip cookies.

***Meanwhile***

Lily was already at the kitchens. Sybill had been crying since daybreak, for her and Peter were having "problems," so Lily had volunteered to get her some sweets. She personally thought Sybill was acting rather ridiculous, but she didn't exactly want to stay in the dormitory and listen to her pout.

As she was gathering the last remains of the cakes the house elves had brought, she noticed another person had entered the kitchen; James.

"What are you doing here?" they both asked, horrified.

"I'm getting sweets for Sybill. Her and Peter are having problems," she said stiffly, but she was having trouble keeping a straight face, as Peter's and Sybill's relationship was such a joke.

"Oh how awful," said a laughing James. "I seriously don't see what they see in each other."

They paused awkwardly for a moment then Lily repeated her question, "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm stalking you, Lily," James said sarcastically. "No, I'm actually getting some chocolate chip cookies."

"For breakfast?" Lily asked.

"No for an after tea snack... Of course for breakfast, Evans. It's daybreak!" said James, impatiently. These snippish conversations were really beginning to annoy him.

"Whatever, Potter," she replied, sharply. She was just about to leave, when James grabbed her arm.

"Listen, Ev- Lily. All of this tension, it's getting on my nerves. What happened last week, let's just forget it. Can't we just go back to what we had before?"

"So you want to go back to what we had?" she asked. "Okay, Potter." And she turned and left.

James turned to the cookies the house elves had brought him a few minutes before and bit into one of them. However, he almost immediately spat it out. It tasted of liver! He was about to tell the house elves off when he realized the taste probably wasn't the work of the house elves, but his redhead, green-eyed, enemy. He couldn't help smiling at the spot where Lily had been.

Life between James and Lily had gone back to normal. They were back to pranking each other, and surprisingly, even ganged up and pulled some pranks on Snape that were pretty bloody awesome. They made a really good team. Almost a better team than Sirius and James. But of course, no one could ever replace Sirius. Not even Merlin himself.

Over the next few months, the castle was unusually quiet (if you didn't ignored the constant pranks that were always causing havoc in the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms, primarily).

On a particularily stormy day in November, the Gryffindors were in a DADA class sitting in rapt attention, like usual. Today, Professor Armando had brought up a very interesting subject.

"What exactly is magic?" he asked the class. "Is it saying a couple of funny words and twirling your wand? Or does it include studying the late night skies? Or is it perhaps something more?"

The class sat in silence. No one could think of a reasonable answer to the explanation.

"Here, let me rephrase the question. How does magic work?"

Slowly, Remus rose his hand. "I'm not sure if this is right, but I'm guessing it works because we all have magical blood," he said motioning towards everyone in the room. "This allows us to make non-ordinary things occur when we say an incantation."

"Nice explanation, Remus. 10 points to Gryffindor. I have another question for you, however. What is happening when you make that non-ordinary thing occur?" questioned Professor Armando.

"Well, I guess a strange force or something causes an attraction or something that allows us to control it," said Remus, timidly.

"Yes, very nice again, Remus. But what is that force between the object and us?"

This time, Remus remained silent. Then the Professor turned to the rest of the class, waiting for an answer. Sirius mumbled, "Magic is that force," assuming it was too obvious of an answer.

"Haha! You are right, Mr. Black. But I ask again, what is magic?"

The class remained silent for another good couple of minutes. Lily was thoroughly confused. Magic was magic, wasn't it?

After some puzzled thinking, James decided to speak. "I think magic is... well... it's almost the impossible. It's what the human can't explain. I mean, I think if we knew exactly how magic worked, it wouldn't be half as interesting. Magic can't be explained, for no one knows exactly how it works." The class stared at him in bewilderment, but the professor looked rather pleased.

"Oh Bravo, Mr. Potter. Twenty-five more points to Gryffindor. And class, here is an example of what Mr. Potter is trying to explain." He said, while pulling out a pair or ordinary magnets.

"I presume you all know what magnets are?" he asked, and was greeted by a bunch of nods. "Very good. See, when muggles first learned how magnets worked, they were absolutely astonished. This was magic to them! I mean look at these things! Two solids that repelled and attracted to each other on their own will, and they didn't even have a brain! But soon, they began to realize that the solids had poles, which caused the attractions. After a short while, the magnets were not intriguing. People disregarded them, for they knew how they worked."

"So are you saying that if we knew exactly how magic worked, we wouldn't want to study it anymore?" Kate asked.

"In a way, yes. The mystery of magic is just one its many beauties. It's almost like an added bonus to what we learn about. We get to study something that has no real answer. Let me ask you this, is any answer about magic wrong?" he questioned.

The already confused class, looked at him is distress. "Alright, nevermind. We will pick up on this topic next week. Homework; write a 8 inch essay on what magic is to you, and it is to be handed in at our next class," said Professor Armando with a smile.

Although the class did not approve of the essay, they they couldn't help but be fascinated with the lesson.

As November turned to December, Lily found herself the center of every boys attention. Well almost every boy. Most still drooled over Kate and Alex as they passed, but as Kate was with Sirius, and Alex just wasn't that into dating at the moment (she and Remus had become nothing more than great friends), a new light had begun to shine on Lily. And this new attention had made James very mad, indeed. He scowled as he past Lily if other boys were around her. After was seemed like the hundredth time this happened, Lily decided she had to say something to him.

"Oy! Potter!" she yelled, chasing after him down the hall, leaving behind a group of disappointed Ravenclaws.

"Oh, it's you, is it? Why do you want to talk to me? Looking for another admirer?" he smirked, and continued walking along with an extremely uncomfortable looking Sirius.

"What is _up_ with you, James? And why do you refer to them as admirers? They're just friends!" she replied, frustrated.

He stopped, raised an eyebrow at her, then continued walking.

"Ugh, James! You are so hard to get sometimes! You say I have admirers? Look at them!" she yelled, pointing to a group of Hufflepuffs, all giggling behind their hands as James passed.

"That's different," he replied.

"And how is that different?" she replied, throwing her hands on her hips and beginning to lose her temper.

"It just is, okay? Listen, I'm going to be late for class," he said, looking for an excuse to escape from her.

"It's Saturday," she said smartly.

"Oh yeah. Right... I'm going to Hogsmeade," he continued.

"Why?" Lily asked.

"To meet Kate," he continued.

"What?!" yelped Sirius, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout the whole argument. "I'm going to Hogsmeade to meet Kate!"

"I know. I'm going with you, Sirius," he said, with a pleading look in his eye.

"Sorry James, but not this time. I'm sick of these little stupid arguments. When are you going to admit that you're JEALOUS of Lily's admirers?" he yelled out, leaving the hall ringing. Luckily for James, no one else was in the hall to overhear (that pack of Hufflepuffs had already left). Unluckily for Sirius, no one else was in the hall to stop both James and Lily from kicking him in the shins.

"Ouch! Geez... I'm out of here. I'll leave you two up to battle this one out," he mumbled, and hobbled off in the direction of the one-eyed witch.

As Sirius left, Lily could feel the presence of James's eyes on her face, but all she could do was look down. She couldn't bring herself to face him.

"Look James..." she began, finally looking him in the eye.

She immediately stopped, however. The sparkle in his eyes made her breath get caught in her chest.

And soon, both didn't know exactly what they were doing. James had his arms around her waist, and Lily had hers around his neck. Sparks were flying, their bodies were against each other, and suddenly, they were kissing. Passionately. When they pulled away, both looked at the other in shock. All James could do was gasp.

"Wow, James, Erm, I have to go," said Lily, urgently, and she left James standing in the hall, his head still spinning from the kiss. All James could do was mentally kick himself. It looked as though they were going to be going back to their awkward conversations, once again. Hopefully, however, they would be able to easily get past them and move on to something more...

**A/N: Okay! The end! Hope you enjoyed! Well, I'm gonna go check out Samantha ****Mumba**** and Aaron Carter in concert, so I'll begin the next ****chatper**** later. Thanks for reading, and review please! Oh, and sorry for the typos... I was too lazy to thoroughly edit it, like usual... :)**


	18. So Different, Yet So Alike

**Disclaimer: Everyone knows this... It all belongs to Ms Rowling.**

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up! I just haven't been motivated to write anything lately. I've been more in the mood to read, but I think I have some pretty good ideas for an interesting chapter. I really want to thank all of you who reviewed. It means so much to me! I don't think you realize how happy I am when I open up my mail and see 10 reviews or something there waiting for me... :) Well, this chapter may be a bit depressing, but trust me, it will all work out for the best. Enjoy!**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year Four - Chapter 3

_So Different, Yet So Alike_

Christmas was approaching rapidly and very few students were staying at Hogwarts. Whether it was because of the increasing threat of Voldemort, or simply the fact that the Christmas season was a time for family, only three Gryffindor students were staying at Hogwarts. Those students were two second years and James Potter. Sirius and his family were going to Italy to greet some family relatives, and James, not wanting to intrude, had made the excuse that he had to stay to finish some extra work over the holidays. Sirius, who didn't quite believe him, as they had nearly all of their classes together, asked James to accompany him numerous times, but James insisted on not interfering with the family reunion. Since James had been rather edgy for the past few weeks (ever since his kiss with Lily), Sirius didn't exactly want to argue with him.

This meant, however, that James was going to be very lonely this Christmas season. Remus was going to be "sick," Kate and Alex were returning to Paris, Sybill was going to some divinator camp, Peter was doing some sort of "business", and Lily, well James didn't know exactly what Lily was doing. He had heard, though, that she was returning home to her parents in Salisbury. With a very heavy heart, James entered the Christmas season unmotivated to do anything but sit and mope in the common room. He really missed his parents...

On the Hogwarts Express, Lily couldn't help but feel excited to see her parents again. They always prepared the BEST Christmas Eve feasts. Her mouth began to water just thinking about the juicy, lightly-brazed turkey, the scrumptious, home-made dressing, the crisp, fresh salad, and of course, the enticing bread pudding followed by a steaming mug of hot cocoa. Yum... what a meal.

As Lily sat on the Hogwarts Express, however, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt for leaving James at the castle with only the company of a few second years at Christmas. Although it wasn't his first Christmas without his parents, Lily was sure it was going to be extremely tough for him. No one should be alone on Christmas, not even your worst enemy. But was he her worst enemy? She definitely hated Snape more than him. Come to think of it, she hated a lot of people more than she hated him. He was becoming more like, well, he had been becoming more like a friend to her. But ever since that stupid kiss they weren't really anything to each other. They simply disregarded the other's existence. But why did she care about him so much? Why did he somehow brighten her day, even if he was only there to throw a hex at her or call her a foul name?

"Hey Lil'?" questioned Sirius.

"Mm?" she replied dazed.

"The train's stopped. We're here."

"Oh, oh. I guess it has, hasn't it?" she said, only half-conscious of her surroundings. So far she hadn't noticed that Sirius, along with her owl, Oe, were floating about a foot above the ground.

"And, uh, sorry about your owl. He should return to normal within in a couple of hours. At least I hope he does," Sirius said, looking at his floating reflection in the window.

"Sirius what have you done now?" asked Lily, turning toward him. "On my goodness! Oe! Sirius, you did not feed him one of those stupid levitating sherbet balls, did you?!"

"Um... If I said I did, would you be angry?" he asked sheepishly.

"Would I be angry?" she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Then I must be off. Have a nice break!" Sirius said quickly, hopping, well floating off the train to his mum and dad before Lily could do anything to stop him.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at the extremely funny looking figure of Sirius Black floating off to his parents, and then her rather disgruntled looking tawny owl.

"What has he done to you now?" giggled Lily, as she struggled to put her owl in his cage. Oe simply clucked his beak unhappily. He obviously preferred to fly on his own will rather than the will of Sirius.

When Lily finally spotted her family, she was surprised as ever to see Petunia smiling at her with her mum and dad.

"Hey Mum, Dad, and, uh, Petunia? It's nice to see you all again!"

"And we're happy-" her father began, but was quickly cut off by Petunia.

"Oh! Lily dearest! My favorite sister! ("You're only sister," Lily mumbled to herself.) I've missed you so much! Let's do go home! I have so much to talk to you about!" And soon, Petunia started dragging Lily off towards the car. Lily raised her eyebrows to her parents. They simply shrugged and motioned for her to follow her sister. After an uneventful ride with Petunia constantly babbling in her ear, their car finally pulled into their house's front drive.

"Ahh... It feels good to be back in my room," said Lily, falling onto to her bed into a pile of stuffed animals. Sooner than she desired, Petunia was back to pestering her. Why was she suddenly being so nice?

"Lily dear! Can you come her for a moment?" Lily heard her sister call. As Lily entered her sister's room, she was overwhelmed with the same picture of a fat boy of about 20.

"Is this a new boyfriend?" Lily asked politely.

"Well, in a manner of speaking. His name is Vernon Dursley, and we are engaged. We are getting married tomorrow."

"Oh?" replied a shocked and disgusted Lily. "Do mum and dad know?"

"Well, see, I have a favor to ask you. I was, well, wondering if you could maybe break it to Mum and Dad that I'm getting married and then put some sort of spell over them so they don't get mad or anything. That is what you do right? Put spells on people?" she asked as nicely as she could, but just talking about magic made Petunia get a very sour look on her face.

Lily would have laughed at Petunia's face if the situation hadn't been so serious. "You want me to what? Put a spell on Mum and Dad? There is absolutely no way I would do that!" Lily replied seriously.

"But I've been so nice to you!" Petunia whined.

"Yea, for the first time in your life," Lily muttered.

"Look, Lily. Please do this! I'm your sister! Do it for me!"

"Petunia, I'm sorry. I truly can't do it for three very good reasons. One, I've never performed a spell that can control someone's emotions, or else I would use it on James Potter more often (Lily wanted to kick herself for bringing up James). Two, I can't use magic in front of mug- people like you. And three, I just wouldn't use magic on my own parents. They're too important to me." Lily said this last statement so sharply that even Petunia took a minute to reply.

"You really are a witch, you know that? I don't ever want to see you again. You better not set foot near my wedding!" Petunia spat.

"You say this as though I actually wanted to go," Lily snapped, turning to the door.

"Well, goodbye forever then. I'm planning on moving with him to Surrey after our wedding, and then I hope to never see you again."

Lily, not wanting to walk out on her sister forever, turned back to say she was sorry, but the look in Petunia's eye only allowed her to say one thing. "Goodbye" she mumbled, closing the door quietly behind her.

As Lily lay down on her bed, she couldn't help but listen to the argument that was arising downstairs.

"You're what?" she heard her father yell as Petunia broke the news to her family.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Lily heard her mother cry.

And the argument continued for hours with Petunia explaining her reasons for waiting to tell them about her engagement. After quite a few tears, the battle was finally resolved and Petunia was still going to have her wedding the next day. How did Petunia come out on top? Lily really didn't know. Lily wondered how her parents would react if she told them _she_ was getting married when she was 18.

On Christmas Eve, Lily and her parents where in quite a cheerful mood. Petunia was still on her honeymoon in Majorca with that stupid Dursley man, but Lily wasn't complaining. She got to have her parents all to herself. That night they ate their scrumptious meal of turkey, dressing, salad, and of course dessert, without a care in the world. During dinner they discussed loads of different topics from Lily's childhood. Of course, they recalled the time when Lily made an English traveling soccer team that went around to different European cities. One game, Lily had scored the game-winning goal, which pushed the team to first place in league play. Lily's parents couldn't have been prouder of her that day. Lily and her parents couldn't stop laughing when they discussed what happened another time in Lily's childhood. When Lily was two she dined at an extremely nice Chinese restaurant in London. The restaurant was the type where you sat on pillows and your feet hung into a low pit. Lily, being the energetic child she was, began to run around the table. Suddenly she tripped over one of misplaced pillows and fell straight into a giant paper wall, knocking it into the table next door. No more than 15 waiters had to come out to put the wall right, and luckily, no one was sitting in the table that was now smushed. As they were in the middle of recalling the time Lily put a sock in her underwear to make a tail, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," her father said quickly, before anyone else could jump up from the table. Lily and her mother gave each other puzzled looks. Who would be calling on them during Christmas Eve dinner?

Curious, Lily and her Mom followed her father into the main hallway.

"Can I help you, sir?" Lily heard her father ask.

"Is this the house of Lily Evans?" croaked a man with a chilling voice. Lily froze as she saw two black-cloaked figures approach her father.

"Yes. What do you want with her?" asked her father, shaking. But he never finished his sentence. He was crumpled dead on the floor with a flash of green light.

"Oh my God! Mom! RUN!" Lily screamed, grabbing her mother's hand and pulling her towards the back door. Her mother, pale and shocked, began to feebly run after Lily, who was still clinging onto her hand.

"Come on Mom! Please hurry!" Lily cried. But her mother had stopped running. She had turned back to where her husband lay. Defiantly, she started walking back to where the Death Eaters stood. The Death Eaters just stared, amused at Mrs. Evans. All Lily could do was mutter, "I love you, Mum. I love you," over and over and continue to run from the house. Maybe she would be the one that Professor Babilon had mentioned could love someone enough to allow them to survive Avada Kedarva.

Lily raced from her house as quickly as she could. She couldn't look back at her house, she just couldn't. All she could do was hope and pray that her mother was alright. Suddenly, she saw a flash of green light and heard a mass of high-pitched cackling. She knew what had happened. Her mother was gone. Lily just kept running. Where to, she had no idea. She didn't stop until she had reached an empty field miles from her house when she was sure no one was following her. As the dark night sky closed around her, she sat down stunned. She didn't care that it was nearly freezing, or that she had sat down in a small patch of snow, or that all she had were her jeans and a t-shirt. She couldn't cry. They couldn't be gone. She had just been talking to them about 15 minutes before, laughing about her childhood...

Lily sat in that field for hours in disbelief. She had nowhere to go. She was too afraid to go back to her house, yet not ready to face anyone at Hogwarts. After sitting stunned in the field until day break, she decided she would have to face someone sooner or later. Slowly, she began to stand up and face north, the direction of her home. After stumbling back up the familiar streets of her neighborhood, she couldn't help but let out a cry when she saw her house. It wasn't in ruins, or damaged in any matter, but the dark mark, brighter than ever, shown brighter than the rising sun directly above it. And then she noticed the dozens of ministry officials buzzing in and out of the area, apparating here and there in what they obviously thought were good hiding spots. Lily stayed hidden in the shadows, not ready to see anyone quite yet. The same thoughts kept running through her head. _Her family. How could this be happening to her family? _ And sitting there, she asked herself the one question that she had been trying to ignore. _Why didn't I love my mom enough to make her survive?_ Lily closed her eyes to stop the tears from forming. When she opened them, she was staring at a pair of billowing black robes, exactly like those of the Death Eaters' the night before.

"Ahh!" she screamed terrified. It couldn't be another one, not now.

"OY! Minister! I think I've found her!" the man yelled. And suddenly, no less than 20 ministry officials glided quickly over to where Lily hid in the shadows. Shaking, Lily stood up and looked them all in the eye.

"Come here, child," said one of the men. "I am Julius Winston, the Minister of Magic."

"You're the, the Minister?" asked a shocked Lily. But she quickly looked past him as she saw Dumbledore running in her direction.

"There you are, Miss Evans. I'll take her now, Julius," Dumbledore said, looking back to the minister. Then he turned back to Lily. "I think it'd be best if you came back with me to Hogwarts. It will be okay." And he began to lead her away from the crowd of officials. Lily stared up into his eyes. They weren't twinkling like usual. They had an odd spark in them that she couldn't quite identify. As she was staring at him, he looked down at her and gave her an encouraging smile.

"I need to get my belongings before we go anywhere," she said, almost in a whisper.

Dumbledore simply nodded to her as an answer. As Lily made her way into the house, she was shocked to see that it was exactly the way she had left it. Their dinner was even still sitting on the table. As she trudged up the stairs to her room, she couldn't help but take her time and glance at every picture, every piece of furniture, every mark on the wall, every ripple in the carpet. Slowly, she started to pack up all of her Hogwarts things. Sighing heavily, she made her way back downstairs with her trunk and owl. Dumbledore met her at the foot of the stairs.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Slowly, she nodded her head. Suddenly, however, she stopped. "Where will I live? I mean, when I'm not at Hogwarts. Where will I live then?"

"I believe your sister has a new house, correct? We'll transport everything else in your room back over to her house, and transfer some of your parents money to your Gringotts vault."

All Lily could do was look down. She really didn't want the headmaster to see her cry. Slowly, Dumbledore held out some floo powder for Lily to take. She threw it into the fire, muttered Lion's Lair (the name of the Gryffindor Common Room), and vanished from sight.

***

Meanwhile, James had been sleeping in one of the giant armchairs towards the back of the common room. He had spent pretty much the whole break either sleeping in this armchair or confining himself in his dormitory to avoid the second year students when he needed some peace and quiet. Their names were Bailey Mickerson, a rather pretty blonde, and Brian Treichly, who, according to Bailey, was the cutest boy she'd ever seen. Both students were in awe of James pranks and brilliant mind, but luckily, didn't bombard him with as many questions as the majority of residents of Hogwarts. They were more into impressing each other than doing much else. Although it was nice to have some company over break, he couldn't help but get annoyed of them when they would wake him up while playing chasey or screaming and yelling because of some crazy dare.

James had been in such a deep sleep, in fact, that he hardly even stirred when Lily fell through the fireplace into the common room. He simply snored on, not noticing Lily's presence. Sighing for about the millionth time that day, Lily began to drag her trunk up to her dormitory, not worrying about being quiet. She hadn't spotted James in the back of the room.

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!

"Ugh... I do wish those two kids would learn how to be quiet," sighed James, slowly coming to his senses from his deep sleep. He slowly began to sit up in the chair, preparing himself to tell off Bailey and Brian when they came back down the stairs from their dormitories. Rubbing his eyes, James heard footsteps coming down one of the staircases. Wait, someone was heading down the staircase that belonged the fourth year girls. Why would Bailey or Brian bother going up to that dormitory?

Confused, James looked on in shock as Lily, pale and helpless, stumbled down the stairs and out of the portrait hole. All he could do was simply gape after her. Why in the world was she back so early? And what had _happened_ to her? He had never seen anyone look so miserable in his whole life.

After coming to his senses, James began to search around the castle for her, asking himself the same question over and over. Why was she so upset? He was scared. Something horrible must have happened to her. First he looked in the library, then the kitchens, and even the owlery. Then he looked out one of the tall windows and noticed her outside, shivering in the fresh white snow with nothing but her muggle jeans and t-shirt. Silently, James headed out to where she sat with her knees bundled up to her chest in what appeared to be the only piece of dry ground.

Lily could hear someone coming, but pretended to ignore whoever it was. She hoped they would just go away. She wanted to be alone. She didn't even glance over when the person sat down beside her. She didn't care who it was or why they were there. All she wanted was for her parents to be back.

"Hey Lil," she heard James breathe in a voice so soothing, so full warmth, that she had to turn to look at him. His eyes were marked with sympathy, curiosity, and what looked like an urge to help her. She tried to talk to him, but simply couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to tell him about what had happened. How _she_ was responsible for her parent's deaths. The death eaters were after her, not her parents. Why couldn't she have answered the door? After a few minutes, she finally spoke.

"I'm... I'm sorry, James," she said, almost in a whisper, now staring at a spot in the ground 5 feet in front of her.

Now James was thoroughly puzzled. "For what?" He couldn't help but ask.

"For never being more sympathetic with you when your parents died." She looked into his eyes, a single tear dripping down her cheek.

He closed his eyes, not believing his ears. He now understood. Her parents had been killed, and he knew exactly how she felt; like a whole piece of her heart was missing. He draped his arm over Lily's shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She laid her head on his chest and began to cry into his shoulder. Now, she couldn't help but tell James everything. How Petunia had suddenly decided to get married and never wanted to see her again. How she and her parents had been discussing the different memories from her childhood just last night during Christmas Eve dinner. How the doorbell had suddenly rang unexpectedly. How the Death Eater's had asked for her, but killed her father anyway. How her mother had turned back to try to help her father. How she had tried to save her mother with her love, but completely and utterly failed. How she had sat in a field the night before, too shocked to sleep. How she had come home to find the Dark Mark shining brightly above her house. And finally, how about 20 different ministry officials had been on the look out for her. Why had there been so many? James just listened in silence, comforting her when she needed it, and conjuring up plenty of tissues.

"Oh gosh, James. I'm so sorry for making you listen to this," she sighed.

"Lily, of anyone at this school, I know exactly what you're going through," he whispered into her ear. "Trust me, you can tell me anything."

She looked up at him and almost smiled. A_lmost_. Then she began to fumble with the locket her parents had given her for her 11th birthday, which was the year she had been accepted to Hogwarts. The year she had been introduced to the wonders of magic, and the year she had been introduced to the chilling reality of Lord Voldemort. She opened the locket.

"Weren't they perfect?" she asked, showing him their beaming faces.

"Yeah, Lily. They really were," he smiled.

Lily closed the locket and put it back around her neck. Her hands then fell upon her Gringott's key, then a necklace she had forgotten about altogether. The golden lily. She began to twist it around the chain as she sat in silence with James. He stared at what she was playing with, and for the first time, looked a bit uncomfortable.

"James? Do you know who sent this to me?" she asked.

Not being able to lie with Lily in such a devastated disposition, he broke her some news that not even Sirius knew about. "Yeah, I did."

She looked at him, shocked. Then her face broke into the first true smile he had seen since she had returned. "Thanks," she muttered, kissing him on the cheek. "I was hoping you would say that," she whispered into his ear. "I think I'm going to head inside. I'm rather cold."

"Good Idea," said James, happily. And he helped Lily stand up, knowing she was far from over the death of parents, just like he wasn't over the death of his own parents, but ready to take on any obstacles that would come cross her path in the future.

**A/N: ****Weew****! End of this chapter! I might end the series soon by skipping the 5****th**** and 6****th**** year and just going to the 7****th**** year. I'm not sure though... ****hmm****... Well, tell me what you think of this chapter. It's extremely long... for me anyway. At least it took a long time to write. It's 9 whole pages! Single spaced! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. And I want to say a thanks to Lori for motivating me to write so much today! please review if you get a chance :) ****gratzi**


	19. The Potions Discussion

**Disclaimer: It's all J.K. Rowling's 'cept Alex, Kate, and whoever else you don't recognize.**

**A/N: This, as you can tell, is the next chapter. I am experiencing a bit of writer's block at the moment, but I think I've got a pretty good idea for the rest of their fourth year. Well, I really don't have much else to say except that I hope you like it!**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 4 - Chapter 4

_The Potions Discussion_

When Lily's friends came back from winter break, they were more than shocked about the news of the deaths of her parents. But they, too, comforted her like any best friend should. By late January, although Lily still dreadfully missed her parents, she was pretty much back to normal. She wasn't afraid to smile or laugh, or pull pranks on the Slytherins once again. Lily and James, however, hadn't pulled any pranks on each other since their fateful kiss. And this was something James and Lily's friends definitely did not leave unnoticed.

"Psst Kate!" Sirius called during their lunch break before potions on a Friday in early March. As Kate turned her attention to him, he began to tell her what he had observed about his love-sick-but-too-blind-to-see-it friends. "Have you picked up on how James and Lily have been... been _nice_ to each other lately?"

"You know what, Sirius? You're completely right. They haven't pulled a prank on each other since, since... geez, I can't even remember! I wonder what's gotten into them!" replied Kate, curiously.

"I think maybe our friends are finally starting to _like_ each other!" said Sirius with his mischievous grin, which Kate immediately returned.

"Who's starting to like each other?" asked Alex, who had been talking to Remus. Soon, Remus was also involved in the conversation.

"So you actually think they like each other?" asked Remus. "I know they haven't been exactly mean to each other lately, but Lily's gone through a hard time. Maybe James is just being considerate."

Sirius simply snorted into the sandwich he was eating. "Remus, Remus. That's good thinking, my man, except James had stopped pulling pranks on Lily long before her parents died."

"True, but I'm still not sure. I don't think they like each other," Remus replied, shaking his head.

"Think who like each other?" asked Lily, who had just come down the stairs.

"You and James, or course," said Sirius, teasingly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me. The day James likes me is the day pigs fly," she stated. Then she added, "Without the help of your magic," to Sirius, who was obviously itching to say he could make a pig fly. Duh. Wingardium Leviosa, or some levitating sherbert balls.

"So, Lily, are you saying that you maybe like Jamsie-boy?" asked Kate excitedly.

"You sure haven't denied that you don't like him," Alex pointed out quickly.

Lily was about to strangle Kate and Alex for even thinking such a thing when James joined the conversation.

"Who likes me?" he asked interested.

"Lily, of course," replied Alex, sweetly, ignoring Lily's death stare.

"Ha! The day Lily likes me is the day pigs fly! Without the help of your magic, Sirius," he added, smirking at him. Sirius, however, along with Alex, Kate and Remus were all looking at each other with raised eyebrows. Lily was shocked. James had just said nearly the same exact thing she had. Sirius lips broke out into a grin when he turned back to Lily and James.

"It's so obvious," he started slowly. James and Lily knew what was coming. Lily was tempted to cover her ears. "You guys totally, completely, and utterly are in love with each other!"

"Sirius. I'll say this one more time. Lily and I do not like each other!" bellowed James.

"Sure ya don't," smiled Kate.

"You all are so incredibly insane! I can't believe we're having this conversation _again_! Here, James you still hate me, right?" she asked.

James wanted to say no, he really didn't hate her at all, but agreed anyway. "Right, Lil'. And you hate me?"

She paused for a second before she answered, then responded strongly, "Of course."

Their friends, however, were not convinced.

"Whatever James, whatever," said Sirius, getting up and going back to his dormitory. Soon Kate followed suit and went to say something to Lily.

"You can't deny this forever, you know."

Now Alex and Remus were both getting up to say something to each of their friends.

"James, I didn't believe it at first, but now it's obvious. I can see the way you look at her," James glanced at Lily. "You like her," said Remus knowledgeably.

"Just admit you like him, Lily," Alex mumbled as she passed her.

After cooling herself down for a minute, Lily turned and yelled after her friends. "I DO NOT LIKE JAMES POTTER!"

"You guys don't know what your talking about!" James called to them. The whole Gryffindor common room turned to look at James and Lily, except Remus, Sirius, Kate and Alex, who simply kept walking towards their dormitories, shaking their heads.

Disgruntled, Lily sat down and buried her hands in her face. "Why do they have to keep bringing this up! We DON'T like each other! Any blind man can see that!" Lily cried.

"You're darn right," said James, laughing.

"And why are you laughing?" Lily snapped.

James simply shrugged, smiling.

"Oh no, not you, too. I don't like you James. I don't!" she exclaimed.

"That," he said, "is obvious. And I don't like you either."

"Well, then why don't you act like you hate me?" she wailed.

"Oh, I will if you want me to," said James, looking like she had just offered him a giant chocolate bar. Then he jumped on top of her and started tickling her.

"Ahh! HAHAHA! James! HAHAH! STOP!" she gasped, in between giggles. He simply kept going, so she did the only she could do. And that was, well, kick him.

"Ouch! Bloody hell, Lily! I think you broke my nose!" he howled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lily laughed in mock seriousness. "Guys are such babies," she mumbled, rolling her eyes, and turning to the girl's staircase. "See you in 10 minutes at potions, Potter," she called.

"Yeah, right. Bye, Evans," he yelled up to her, still holding his nose.

"Dang that really hurt!" he mumbled, heading up to his own dormitory. Lily could only laugh, glancing at him one last time before she entered her dorm. He really was cute...

***

During potions, to their friends' delight, James and Lily had been paired up as partners. Luckily for James and Lily, they had been seated across the room from Sirius, Alex, Kate, and Remus so they couldn't be taunted by their friends all period. But unluckily, they were right behind Snape and Malfoy and in front of two ugly Slytherin girls; Naria and Zamira. Gross...

As the class progressed, both James and Lily couldn't help but notice how nervous Professor Karkaroff looked. Unintentionaly, they both kept continuously watching his every move. What was wrong with him?

"Why do you think he's shaking and so pale?" Lily whispered to James.

"I don't know. It looks like he's just recovered from the flu or something, but he can't have. He would have been sick for Bailey's class yesterday then, too."

"Bailey?" asked Lily, trying to keep her voice mildly surprised.

"Yea, she's this second year who stayed here at Christmas with her boyfriend. Although, don't let her hear me say that I called him her boyfriend. She denies she likes him, yet it's obvious she does. Anyways, she was talking to me about how awful potions was last night," James told a shocked Lily. Where had she heard a story like that of Bailey and Brian? She couldn't quite place a finger on it.

"Lily, look!" whispered James rapidly, motioning towards the professor. He was slipping a note to Snape and Malfoy, trying to be as subtle as possible so the class didn't notice.

"Ohh... I wonder what it says," Lily gasped, craning her neck to try to get a look at the little piece of paper Snape and Malfoy were now reading.

"Look, Lil' class is almost over. If we want to get that paper, we need to make a diversion," said James.

"I'm all over it," she replied, leaving her seat, and pretending to start cleaning up. Suddenly, she tripped and fell straight into Snape who was still holding the paper, which flew out of his hands. An engorging potion fell all over him, and then he started to swell like a balloon

"Oh Snape, I'm so sorry!" she half-yelled, trying to attract everyone's attention, which she needn't have done as everyone was roaring with laughter because of the inflating Snape. James, who wanted to join in laughing, simply sat stunned for a moment. Dang this girl was quick-witted. Then, he came to his senses. He casually picked up the paper while pretending to sweep up some of the potion that had been spilled on the floor in Lily's "accident."

"Miss Evans!" Lily heard the professor scream. She grimaced. She knew what was coming. "Clean this mess up this instant! And you, too, Mr. Potter!" he yelled, noticing James unable to contain his giggles, laughing hysterically on the floor. Lily, however, almost did a double take. She wasn't getting a detention? Wait, he didn't even call her something foul! Something really was definitely wrong with him today.

Suddenly, the bell rang and the whole class slowly pushed their way to the door. Snape was given an antidote and forced out the door like the rest of the class. James and Lily stayed after to clean up like the professor had said. As they were mopping the remains of the potions off the floor, they heard the professor mumbling to himself.

"Why did I join his dark side? I swear I will get him the next time he uses the Cruciatus Curse on me. I swear I will."

Lily shuddered, then looked at James in shock. Hearing the professor talk about Cruciatus Curse brought back some awful memories of when that particular curse was used on her. But was the professor really on the Dark Side? It didn't seem possible... Not a Hogwarts teacher! James jerked his head to the door and mouthed, "Let's go." He obviously didn't want the professor to realize they were still in the classroom.

After they snuck out of the room, Lily broke out in astonishment.

"He isn't working for Voldemort, do you think?"

"It appears so. That's the only person who could have done that to him. Who else would use the Cruciatus Curse? And no one else refers to their followers as the Dark Side... " replied James, deep in thought. "That must mean he... he..., you know Voldemort, (Lily gulped) is nearby if he performed that curse on him and he was able to return back to the school."

Lily looked scared, but spoke the first true words of comfort. "That's not necessarily true. He could have Apparated from Hogsmeade, or somewhere near Hogwarts, to Voldemort's hideout, and then back again. You know what I'm saying?"

James nodded.

"Hey, wait a second! Where's that paper!" she exclaimed.

"Oh Yeah! I almost forgot!" James said, holding out the paper so Lily could read it, too.

_Meeting at 7 o'clock in hideout on last day of term. Their murders to take place._

Lily gulped. "Mu...Mur...Murders?"

James kept reading the paper, over and over again. "I bet their hideout is in that secret room in Honeydukes! You remember that room, right? We went their last year on Kate's birthday and _saw_ Karkaroff slip that note through the crack in the wall."

Lily nodded. James seemed to be thinking very hard.

"Lily, listen to me. Don't go anywhere new Hogsmeade for the rest of this term. You hear me? We can't have you getting hurt.... or killed."

Lily nodded and walked down the hall in silence with James. Then she turned to him. "Wait, one second, James. If your doing this because you think they're after me, then you most definitely need to enforce the same precautions on yourself! You're the Gryffindor heir! I'm sure they want to kill you more than me! I'm just some young muggle-born." Lily grabbed his arm to force him to stop walking and looked urgently into his eyes.

Wow, those eyes were amazing. He wanted to kiss her again, but not now, not yet... He just kept staring into those emerald green eyes.

"James, promise me you won't go down there!" she said sternly.

"Someone's got to stop them, Lil'; figure out their hideout."

Lily threw her arms back in frustration. "James! Tell Professor Dumbledore! He'll be able to resolve it, and probably won't get killed while doing it!"

"Lily, he'll be way too obvious. If they hear he's coming to Hogsmeade, they'll just move their meeting to somewhere else! That'll make it easier for them to carry out our- the murders anyway!"

"James!" Lily exclaimed. "Your talking like a madman! It's suicide! Don't you see you'll be playing right into their trap?"

James grunted.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine," she snapped. "You go, I go."

James suddenly looked quite panicked. "Oh no you don't. You already promised."

"I take back my promise. And you know what? A great bat like you isn't going to stop me!"

James looked taken aback. He didn't know what to do. "Fine, I won't go," he agreed at last.

"Good," Lily smiled triumphantly. Little did she know, he had his fingers crossed behind his back.

***

As the end of term approached, everyone was overwhelmed with exams, but excited for the summer. James and Sirius took this time to play more tricks on the Slytherins and get out some of their exam gitters. Lily not knowing all of James's nerves weren't caused by the exams.

During the potions exam, Lily noticed that some of the Slytherins kept looking at her and James both maliciously and sympathetically. It was like they knew something she didn't. Lily couldn't help but notice how nervous James was, and potions wasn't even a hard subject for him. He could hardly speak when he asked if he could borrow her spare beaker for measurements.

On the last day of term, as Lily was packing her belongings in ther trunk, she noticed James still had her beaker. She decided she better go retrieve it from him because if she didn't at that moment she would probably forget to get it all together. She went down to the common room in search of James, but she only found Sirius, Remus and Peter.

"Hey Sirius. Where's James?" she asked.

"He said something about stalking up on some joke items at Hogsmeade, since we used most of them on the Slytherins last week," he replied calmly.

"WHAT!?" Lily screamed.

_To be continued..._

**A/N: ****Ahh****! I'm sorry! I know tons of people HATE ****cliffy's****, like myself, but I had to stop it here... Trust me on this one. The good thing is that I have completely emerged from that bit of writer's block I was experiencing. I know EXACTLY what's going to happen next. I'm really excited to write the next part. I promise it will be out by next weekend for sure. This chapter is just a lead in to the climax of this year, so I'm sorry it's not too good. The next one will be MUCH MUCH MUCH better! PLEASE R/R or I won't continue! J/K... I will no matter what because even if you don't wanna read it, I want to write it... ****hehe****.**

**Shana: How do you get your chapters out so fast? I'm going to try to get my next one out as fast as you! (Everyone who knows me is probably rolling their eyes at me. They know it won't happen... oh well :]) Everyone read her story, it's good.**

**Alrighty****, review if you get a chance please! - ****Heraclas**


	20. Finding James

**Disclaimer: It's JK's**

**A/N: Hey everyone! SORRY ABOUT NOT POSTING THIS SOONER!! I meant to post it two weekends ago, but I didn't have ANY time what-so-ever to write. I had two biology projects and a history project two weekends ago, and I only finished half of this last weekend. I must have done at least 20 hours of homework. Anyways, this is the last and final chapter to this year, and I'm soooo excited to finish it, you seriously don't understand. Man! Well, here goes nothing. :) I hope you enjoy! Later days...**

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 4 - Chapter 5

_Finding James_

Lily started to panic immediately. James in Hogsmeade? Not today, no way! She nearly screamed when she spoke to Sirius.

"Sirius, what's the fastest way to Honeydukes!?" She was trembling as she yelled this, disturbing about three quarters of the common room.

Sirius gave Lily a puzzled look, then spoke slowly and softly to Lily, trying to imply that she should do the same. "Lily," he paused. "First, you go to the one-eyed witch on the third floor, and then simply tap it and say Dissendium. It leads straight into the Honeydukes cellar. Why?"

"No time for that now! Listen, Sirius, go to Dumbledore and tell him where I've gone. Tell him to come to Honeydukes immediately!" she hollered over her shoulder, diving through the portrait hole.

"Lily, wait!" Sirius yelled after her, more confused than ever. He was too late, however, and by the time he was out of the portrait hole, she had completely disappeared.

"That was interesting," the Fat Lady said, astonished.

"I guess you could say so," said Sirius, more to himself than the portrait. "Flabbergash," he mumbled, and he went back inside to get Kate.

Meanwhile, Lily was running as hard and as fast as she could. She could barely think, she was so scared. All she could focus on was getting to James as fast as possible, or what might happen if she didn't. After what seemed like centuries of strenuous running through a dark tunnel, and tedious staircases, Lily was finally at the cellar entrance to Honeydukes. Pulling her cloak hood up over her head so no one could identify her, she slowly opened the trap door and peered inside.

Immediately, she pulled it back down, however. The store keeper was standing practically inches away from it! Unluckily, when she closed it, it made quite a load thud. Pulling herself deep into the shadows, even though she knew the storekeeper couldn't see her, she waited with bated breath. She could hear the keeper walking practically on top of the trapdoor, and mumbling things under his breath. After 5 minutes or intense silence, Lily heard the storekeeper walking back upstairs. Slowly, she pulled the trapdoor up again. She pushed her way out onto the cellar floor and headed up the stairs. She peaked in through the window on the door. The owner was across the store helping another customer. PHEW! Silently, she slipped out of the back door, and into the main part of the shop. Immediately, she began to search for any sign of James. Where could he have gone?

Quietly, Lily slipped out of the shop and into the dark, deserted streets. She didn't know where to start looking. Then she saw two dark, cloaked figures; Malfoy and Snape! Staying in the shadows, Lily followed the duo to a wooden, run-down door beside Honeydukes that she most definitely would have overlooked if it hadn't been pointed out to her. In a raspy old voice, the door talked to Snape and Malfoy.

"Password?" it grunted. Malfoy looked bewildered, but Snape stepped forward.

"End to the Heir and Flower," he whispered in a barely audible whisper. It was a miracle Lily could hear him. Although she was grateful she could hear the password and continue her search for James, she couldn't help but feel a knot build in her stomach. The password confirmed that the people in that room were actually after her and James. Who else did she know that was named after a flower, other than her sister, and who else was an heir of anything of relevance other than James? Taking a deep breath, Lily pulled her cloak tightly around her once again to hide her face and walked bravely up to the door. She had never been more afraid of anything in her whole life.

As she approached, she heard the door ask her gruffly for the password. Tentatively she replied, "Ummm.... End to the Heir and Flower." Scared the door would see through to her true colors, she hung her head, even though she knew this would make no difference in identifying if she was a traitor.

Steadily, with a giant creak, the door slipped open just enough for her to fit through. Putting one foot in front of the other, she forced herself to walk into the room, petrified of what she might find inside. With a sigh of relief, Lily noticed that where she now was not a room, but a giant stone passageway that led in one direction. The murky lanterns and mice squeaking in the corners made chills lurk down her spine. She shivered uncontrollably and walked cautiously down, down, until she ran headlong into someone. Only then did she notice the line of people all waiting to get somewhere.

"Sorry," she grunted, trying to disguise her voice.

The man she ran into simply leered down at her, making her feel very uncomfortable. Slowly, the line in front of her began to move and the man turned back around.

Lily's heart was pounding faster than it ever had before. She felt as though her heart was made of stone, and was bruising her chest with each beat. As she slowly walked forward, she noticed the tunnel branch off in another direction. She was quite tempted to explore this dark area, as she heard muffled footsteps coming from its depths, but decided to stay in the line and see what was ahead. As she got closer, she noticed an old man putting a spell on each person as they went by. Intrigued, she continued to watch, and she noticed after every person passed, it flashed green. When she was about 10 people away from the spell performer, a small, hunched man was next in line. What happened next, startled Lily so badly she almost let out a cry. I giant flash of red light split the air and the continuous words of "traitor, traitor," split the silence. She watched in horror as six burly men emerged from the shadows and dragged the other man off, not taking any notice of the look of pain engraved in his frightened face.

Not wanting to repeat this man's event, Lily slipped out of the line, mumbling something about dropping her wand. Her mind clouded with fear, she began to speed walk back down the hall, only stopping when she passed the other tunnel and she remembered why she was in this situation in the first place. James. She had to find him. She had to keep searching. He had to be in here. Just then, she looked down on the ground and saw something quite interesting. It was a filibuster fireworks wrapper. Curious, Lily peered down the tunnel and noticed another a little farther into its depth. Silently she crept inside, blending with the shadows, unaware of another person's presence.

Without warning, she was attacked from behind. A hand was wrapped tightly around her mouth, preventing her from screaming, although, she screaming wouldn't exactly be wise either with the swarms of Death Eaters crawling around. Squirming with all her might, she was forced into a wall, and then flipped around. She felt the attacker pull her hood down off her face.

"Lily?" the person gasped.

She looked into the attacker's eyes. "James!" she breathed.

"What are you doing down here? You scared me half to death!" he whispered harshly.

"Scared you half to death? At least I didn't sneak up on you and force you into a wall!" she retaliated, holding her head to show him the gash on her forehead excreting fresh blood.

"Sorry," he said, sounding sincere, but picking up his serious tone right away. "You must get out of here immediately. Do you know how dangerous this is?"

"Then why the hell are you down here?" she replied sarcastically.

"Listen, I can handle this on my own."

Just then she saw a streak of light heading down the passage. Quickly, she pulled James into a small crevice just big enough for two people. After a huge, cloaked man walked by, Lily turned to him. "Would you like to say that again?"

James glared at her. How did she always end up right? He stared hard into those fiery green eyes, so full of determination. Then he sighed. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to endanger Lily, yet he still wanted to find out what exactly was happening in this meeting and, to put it bluntly, how to stop them from killing him and Lily. He sighed again.

"You know, I may be more of a help than you think," she said, standing up and dusting herself off.

"I don't think so girlie," said a gruff voice behind her. Lily turned and came face to face with a man who seemed nearly as big as Hagrid, but with a face as jagged and deformed as a weathered rock. His misshapen eyes held none of Hagrid's warmth, and his brownish, blackish hair was entwined with dirt and leaves. He raised his wand and Lily closed her eyes, frozen with fear.

"Stupefy!" Lily heard from the corner. Lily grimaced, expecting pain at least, but felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw James with his wand raised pointing toward the ogre-like man.

"Run," he breathed as footsteps from the entrance to the passageway began to ring throughout the hall. Lily didn't need telling twice. She grabbed hold of James's hand and together than ran as fast and as hard as they could, but to where, they had no idea. They had no idea where this passage lead, or if, in fact, it lead anywhere.

James could hear hexes being hurled up at them. He could hardly withstand the splitting cramp in his side, but still he pushed, eager to save Lily. She was starting to slow down, obviously too tired to continue. "Come on," he encouraged. He pushed her in front of him to keep her at a quick pace, and also to protect her form any well-aimed hexes. They twisted and turned deeper and deeper into the heart of the tunnel, praying they would somehow survive.

"James I can see light! We must be almost out of this place! James!" Lily looked back at him and he was doubled up in pain. He had been hit! He was gasping for air like he couldn't breath.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no. James! Come on!" Lily put his arm over her shoulder, dragging him toward the exit. She could hear footsteps closing in on her. She turned around. Everything around her was pitch black. She pulled out her wand as James was gasping for air.

"Lily, leave me. Save yourself," he managed to breath out.

"Yeah right," she mumbled, pushing back her hair and getting ready to duel, even if she was really no match for a bunch of Death Eaters, probably not even one. She could sense someone moving in front of her. She raised her wand, ready to perform the first curse that came into her head. She squinted her eyes, looking around. She really couldn't see anything. Suddenly she felt James being thrown into her, then herself being pushed against the wall. She swiveled around, her wand raised high. But without warning, the ground crumbled away at her feet and she felt herself and James falling. She grasped his hand and looked up. And although it was black, she was able to see a pair of dark, cold, but oddly familiar eyes. She was now sliding down what seemed to be some sort of slide, James right behind her. He was passed out, but appeared to at least be breathing.

Faster than it started, the slide ended, and she was thrown out onto some sort of grassy hill. James landed softly beside her. She had no idea where she was or what the hell had just happened to her. Had someone just saved her by pushing her down that... that... passage? She turned to James. Wait, was he breathing?! Oh god. She shook him uncontrollably.

"James! Wake up! James! Don't do this to me! I lov- like you! A lot! Oh God! Help please!" She cried, looking up towards the heavens. She heard a low moaning coming from next to her. She looked back down, he was moving.

"James!" she screamed, throwing her arms around him.

"Owww! Oww, Lily get off!" he cried, holding his stomach.

"Sorry!!! Oh James-"

"I know, I know! All guys are babies," he grumbled, still holding his stomach, but looking at Lily with a bright sparkle in his eyes. He smiled, which she immediately returned.

"Now promise me you won't ever, ever, ever do that again! You hear me?" she yelled. "I have never been more scared in my whole life."

James looked at her. "How did you get out of there? And why did you save _me_?"

"Oh come off it, James. You didn't actually think I'd let you _die_."

James smiled at her gratefully. "I wouldn't have let you die, either. That is if I could breathe, however."

Lily couldn't control herself. "Oh come here," she laughed, pulling him into a huge hug. And then he did something she wasn't expecting. He kissed her. When he pulled away, James was mesmerized. They looked deep into each others eyes and smiled at exactly the same time.

"Er, I guess we should get out of here," she giggled, grasping his hand and interlocking her fingers in his.

As though on cue, Dumbledore appeared running. "James, Lily," he gasped. "Are you all right?"

James and Lily looked at each other, then turned back to the professor and nodded.

"If you're sure, just walk over the ridge of this mountain and Madam Pomfrey will be there. I don't care what you two say, you're spending a night in the hospital wing," he gazed over Lily's gash in her forehead and frowned at James's irregular breathing.

They both nodded, and watched Dumbledore go off in what they supposed was the direction of the Death Eaters hideout. Still hand in hand they walked over to Madam Pomfrey who immediately began to dance around them, whining over their injuries. James and Lily both rolled their eyes to each other, and patiently allowed the nurse to escort them safely back to the castle.

***

At midnight that night, Lily woke to the sound of whispers near her.

She silently turned and was surprised to see Snape lying in the bed next to her. James, who was on the other side, was still sound asleep. Dumbledore was talking quietly to Snape, but in an unusually grave tone.

"I'm sorry, Snape, but you are expelled. You were caught in the Death Eater's hideout. I can't allow students in league with Voldemort to remain in my castle. Do you even understand the seriousness of your actions?"

Snape nodded mutely, tears welling in his eyes. "Sir, I'm... I'm sorry. If you'd give me a second chance..."

Dumbledore looked at him gravely. "Unless someone can speak on your behalf proving you aren't as involved in the Dark Arts as you appear, I have no choice but to expel you."

Snape looked down at his hands, then over to Lily. When he noticed she was awake, she gave him a very odd expression. He didn't know what to do. If only the professor knew what really happened in that tunnel. But no one would ever back him up...

"Professor," Lily stated, groggily, "You can't expel Snape."

Surprised that she was awake, Dumbledore turned to her, a certain spark in his eyes. "And why is that Miss Evans?"

"He... He saved me when I was down there with James. He pushed me through that secret passage that allowed the escape. Without..... him.... I would be... be dead."

"Are you sure?" he asked, but he didn't sound surprised.

"Yes. I'd recognize his eyes anywhere," she replied sternly.

"Very well, I think everyone deserves a second chance," said Dumbledore, his eyes now twinkling. And with that he left the room without further questions.

Snape mouthed a "thanks," to her, which she returned with a smile. She laid her head back down on her pillow, staring at the ceiling. Tonight had definitely been an interesting night. She shook her head removing the horrifying memories from reentering her head. She turned and lay facing James's bed. She smiled again at his innocent figure and finally drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: The end! I'm so sorry it took so long to post! I'm not going to make any more promises about when things are going to be posted because, as you can see, things come up! I know this chapter isn't super long, but I really hope you enjoyed it. It was really intense writing it anyway... well thanks so much for all the reviews! WOW 250! I'm mesmerized!! hehe, well REVIEW some more please!! ( I would love to get to 300... hint hint) :] Later days**


	21. Expressions

** disclaimer: yeah, yeah, it's all jk's.**

** A/N: Hello faithful readers! I'm back to writing again, finally. You probably don't really care about why I've been taking so long to write, but just in case you do, here's why. It's been super tough for me to get any writing done because, like I said in previous author notes, I have been more than booked with softball. I have practice 3 times a week for two hours, on top of school (but now it's finally summer), and then tournaments on weekends with three games each day. I also just had finals (may i say HELL). I even typed half of this chapter in school just for you all! But anyways... the future chapters I post shouldn't take as long as this one to post because since it's summer, I have the whole morning to afternoon to write, monday through friday. Then again, I am starting a new story but I don't think I'm posting it on here. Again, sorry about this late posting, but I hope you enjoy anyway! **

The Rivalry of James and Lily

Year 5, Chapter 1

_Expressions_

"_Shut up_, Petunia!" Lily yelled through her ugly new door in her ugly new room on the ugly new 4 Privet Drive. This was the new house where Petunia, and big, fat, loud, annoying Vernon Dursley had decided to live after their marriage that last December. This house was two stories; neat, tidy, plenty big, and quite comfortable, other than the fact everywhere you looked there were shrines to Petunia and Vernon. There were pictures of them at fancy restaurants, mementos from their weddings, and roses from special occasions, all framed and scattered throughout the house. These frequent reminders were more than enough to make Lily want to hurl every time she simply left her room. And ever since the end of her fourth year, after her adventure with James, and after the end of term feast which the Gryffindors' all celebrated heartily (they had won the house cup, again), Lily had been stuck with stupid Petunia and stupid Vernon in this stupid new house.

Not only was the appearance of this new house as horrible as dead rotting fish (at least to Lily), but so was the atmosphere. Petunia couldn't last five minutes without picking fights with Lily over silly things, such as leaving a towel on the bathroom floor, or eating the last of the cereal.

"Lily! This is the last straw!" Petunia bellowed, swinging the door open, savagely. "Get out! Get out of this room we have so kindly given to you! Get out, now! And go sleep... sleep in that cupboard under the stairs! That's all the better you deserve. That's all anyone _friends_ with you deserves. You are the foulest little creature to walk this planet. I can't believe I _ever_ agreed to take you in!" Petunia's face was so crumpled and ugly that Lily couldn't help but be scared. Lily, however, not having any clue what she did, refused to collect her belongings.

"I said get out!" Petunia yelled. Lily stayed rooted to her bed, or should I say mattress, in which the springs were beginning to pop out. Petunia swiveled on the spot, slammed the door, and hurriedly walked down the stairs, searching for Vernon. Petunia knew he would be able to set Lily straight. Not knowing what to do, Lily took everything she owned and stacked it against the door. She was tempted to use a charm to lock the door, but as magic in front of muggles was extremely forbidden, she didn't want to risk getting expelled from Hogwarts. That was now the only place she was actually happy.

Lily heard pounding footsteps coming up the stairs. She shrank back to the window in fear, as far away from the door as possible.

"Lily Evans!" Vernon's voice yelled, shaking with anger. "Get out here!" He began to slam the door with his fist, causing it to break in several spots. Lily could feel a cool breeze on her back from her opened window. She was about to close it, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the door. Suddenly, she heard a whisper in her ear.

"Lily," someone hissed, poking her back.

Lily jumped about a foot and screamed. She turned to see James's head outside her window. Then he tore off his invisibility cloak and showed the rest of his body and the broomstick on which he was flying.

"James! Get me out of here!" Lily wailed, scared out of her wits.

"What's wr-," James began, but he was interrupted by another slam on the door.

"Lily! Open this door this minute!" Vernon bellowed. "Who's in there with you?"

Lily only whined, and looked pleadingly at James.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" James asked. "Come on, now. Gather your belongings, and hurry!"

Lily's trunk, which was already packed for Hogwarts was over by the door. She quickly dragged it over to the window, praying the rest of the furniture would hold to Vernon's burly strength. She flopped its top open and then ran around, gathering any other supplies she might need, throwing them into her trunk. She grabbed her owl cage and attached it the top of the trunk. She figured she'd let Oe follow her and James. James took out his wand, getting ready to perform a feather-light charm.

"James! Wait! You'll be expelled. They're muggles!" Lily exclaimed.

"Yeah. And I'm not doing this in front of them am I? They're on the other side of this door."

"Good point," Lily agreed.

He was beginning to twirl his wand when, yet again, he heard another, "Wait!"

"What now?" he asked a bit irritated, his arm raised in the ready position.

"Are you sure you don't want me to that?" Lily asked, unsure of James's charms abilities. After all, she had been tutoring him for quite a long time now and he still was hardly passing.

James simply flashed her his winning smile and replied, "I think I'll be alright, thanks." He quickly performed the charm and picked up the trunk with one hand. "You see, Lily. I had this great tutor, and I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this charms business. Although, my last report card sure doesn't show it," he mumbled in an afterthought.

Lily flashed him a smile, blushing slightly, and helped him tie the trunk to the back of his broom. He then helped her onto his broom, covered them with the invisibility cloak, and sped away, leaving the continuous bangs on Lily's still-closed-door behind.

Relieved by her escape from Petunia, Lily didn't notice she was 500 feet in the air until she saw a duck flying next to her, quacking in her ear. And at this point, she felt herself jump another foot, slam her eyes shut, and tighten her grip around James. She heard James cough a few times, and loosened her grip just a touch.

"Isn't it beautiful up here?" James asked later, as calm as a bird.

"Oh yes, as beautiful as a summer sunset," she replied, trying to hide her fright.

"Uh, Lily. This is a summer sunset," he said, pointing to a mountain range in the distance. Lily squinted her eyes open a sliver. "Maybe if you opened your eyes you'd notice those things," he laughed.

Lily blushed in embarrassment. So, he knew she was scared. Oh well, right? She wished she could have brushed that feeling off as easily, but for some reason she felt herself stay red for quite a long time. She slowly loosened her grip more around James and began to try to enjoy her surroundings. After a couple of minutes, she was actually quite comfortable sailing through the skies with James by her side, watching the sunset in the far distance. With her eyes open, she was quite a bit more relaxed and began to actually enjoy herself.

"James, why did you come over to my house?" she wondered aloud.

James didn't answer. At first he just shrugged, and Lily didn't bother him about anything until they reached their destination, his and Sirius's houses. He carried her trunk into the spare room she had stayed in the last time she had been there with Alex and Kate. On his was out of the room, James informed Lily that Sirius was back in Italy at another family reunion until August 29, which was 1 week from now and that she could stay until the start of term, if she liked. He was just about to leave when Lily stopped him.

"James, do you still hate me?" she asked bluntly.

He looked back at her puzzled for a minute, then he looked down at his hands. "Nope. I don't hate you at all." He turned again to go back out the door. As he was shutting it behind him, he poked his head in and asked her, "I'm going to go make some macaroni and cheese, care to join me?"

Lily smiled. "Surely," she grinned. "I'll be down in 5 minutes. I'm going to change into some sweatpants real fast."

Lily slipped on her green sweatpants and a white spaghetti strap shirt. She looked in her mirror and was quite pleased when she realized she really didn't look that bad. Her hair, which was half-up, was a bit wind blown. Little wisps of hair framed her face, and her eyes were accented from the green in the pants. Before she met James in the kitchen, she unpacked a few of her belongings, and then hopped down the stairs. When she entered the kitchen, she was shocked to see James wearing a white apron and chef hat. Lily let out a small giggle, which got James's attention.

"Good day, my lady. Would you please take a seat?" he asked in his heavy British accent, motioning toward the kitchen table, which was lit with two flaming candles.

Lily quickly sat down and watched in silence as James turned on some light Italian music and continued slopping the macaroni and cheese together as though if it was his greatest masterpiece. He hummed lightly to the music as he poured two servings into separate bowls and added a bit of parsley for a touch of color. He tore off his apron and removed his chef hat from his already messy black hair. Smiling, he served Lily her food and sat down next to her.

"Thanks Chef Potter," she said, looking down at her perfect macaroni and cheese.

James was looking at Lily tentatively as she took her first bite. She looked at him when her food reached her mouth and laughed.

"I thought only Sirius was this serious about his food!"

James smiled weakly.

"It's good, don't worry!" she grinned.

For James, this was the ticket and he began to dig into his mac and cheese forcefully. They ate together in silence for a while, and then James began smiling into his food.

"Hey, it's good, but not that good," giggled Lily, teasingly.

James shook his head, "Oh, it's not that. I was just thinking."

"About what?" Lily asked, intrigued.

"Well, I was mainly thinking about... well..." James looked at her nervously.

"Well, what?" asked Lily.

"Oh... um. It's nothing."

"Come off it, James. Just tell me," said Lily.

"Ok. Well, mainly, I was thinking about how much I really don't hate you at all. As a matter of fact, I haven't hated you since the third year. I admit, I despised you our first and second years, but after that, you had changed somehow. You weren't as _immature_ after that."

Lily punched his arm hard enough to make it hurt but not injure him.

James laughed. Then as Lily re-aimed to punch him a bit harder, he put his hand up. "Come on, Lil', let me finish." He fed her some puppy begging eyes, and sadly she lowered her arm. He eyed her suspiciously for a minute, prepared for a surprise attack. Lily laid her hands on the table so he could keep watch on them and continue.

"Thanks," he muttered. "Anyway, as I was saying. I really haven't hated you for quite some time now. Actually, I think I'm rather starting to _like_ you.. erm.. a bit." He turned slightly red, and Lily just stared at him, both eye brows raised.

James looked at her and laughed. She looked as though she just saw Snape die or something. "Come on, Lily. I know you love me. Or should I say, _like me a lot_? Weren't those your words?" he smiled, menacingly.

Lily's jaw dropped. "What...?" she gasped.

Seeing her anger, James looked away, timidly.

"You... you were awake?" she gibbered. "But you... you weren't breathing!"

James fed her innocent eyes. "I barely heard. I mean I really wasn't able to breath. You just yelled it so _loud_."

Lily kept staring at him in shock. Then she looked down at her food. "Merlin's beard," she mumbled, forking her food with extreme force.

James looked back down at his food. He wished more than anything he could take back what he had said. He knew if Lily had been dying in front of him, he would have expressed his love profusely. And he was going to tell her so, but as she was now smashing her food into a giant glob, he decided maybe he should clear her plate before that glob ended up on his face.

"Er... May I take that for you?" he asked.

Lily simply pushed her plate towards him and got up from the table. Why did she ever yell her feelings out so loud? She punched herself mentally for being so stupid. She walked up the stairs. Now she almost wished she were back at Petunia's. Almost, that is. She'd never felt more embarrassed or ashamed in her life. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face and climbed in bed. She closed her eyes. She knew James would find out sooner or later she liked him (she had finally admitted it to herself), but she didn't want him to find out until she was ready for him to know. She rolled on her side and looked at the stars. She wished more than anything the pit in her stomach would disappear. She didn't know what to do. She didn't have anyone to turn to.

"Mum, Dad, why aren't you here?" she whispered, a solitary tear falling down her cheek. James knocked on the door. Lily wanted to answer, but she didn't. She kept on her side, opposite the door, and closed her eyes. James opened the door a crack.

"Lily," he hissed. She didn't moved. She couldn't. Solemnly, James closed the door. But before it was completely shut he whispered, "I love you, too."

After Lily was sure he was gone, she burst into tears. No one had said 'I love you' to her since her parents died. And as it was James, her sworn-enemy-yet-complete-crush, she didn't know how to deal with her emotions. Crying, she fell asleep some hours later.

Next morning, Lily awoke relieved she was away from Petunia and Vernon. But memories of the previous nights events forced the joy in her stomach to morph into a sense of humiliation and resentment. She laid in bed for a few minutes, then dressed, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She scrambled four eggs and broiled two tomatoes. And just as she was finishing, she saw James appear on the stairs, his puppy-dog eyes begging for food. Lily, being her smart self, had made two servings, knowing all too well that James would wake up to the wafting smell of eggs at 9 o'clock in the morning. Although why she did him a favor, she had no idea.

After placing a plate in front of each herself and James, she began to nibble at her food, unaware of James eyes glancing at her every few seconds. Only when Lily realized James hadn't touched his food did she notice the circle under his eyes and how awfully tired he looked.

"Didn't sleep?" she muttered.

James simply nodded his head, mutely.

"Me neither," she mumbled, softly, keeping her eyes on anything but James.

James looked up at her and didn't look away until they made eye contact. His eyes were sympathetic and sorry. He, however, could not read Lily's eyes. Her face appeared slightly angry, yet hers eyes looked hurt but warm. James looked back down at his food.

"Look, Lily. I'm really sorry," he said honestly. "I truly didn't mean to hurt you at all. That's really the last thing I ever want to see."

Lily looked at him and smiled softly.

James fed her a small smile in return, then finally took a huge bite of his food, mumbling, "Wow, this is good." Lily rolled her eyes and laughed. He could never be distracted from the call of his stomach too long.

"You know, Lily," he started with a mouthful of eggs. "I really have _liked_ you, as in more than a friend, for a long time now. I just really thought you hated me so I was afraid to say anything to you. Plus, I didn't really want to let Sirius know he was right about me liking you for so long."

Lily looked at him thoughtfully, and then smiled maliciously. "Sirius doesn't have to know."

James grinned. "So we're a couple?"

Lily simply smiled as her answer, too afraid she would burst with joy if she said anything.

***

Over the next few days, James and Lily were happy together, once again. They went on picnics, talked endlessly about everything and nothing, and practiced some snogging here and there. On the day before Sirius was due home, letters from Hogwarts arrived for them. Although they were rather late, Lily was quite pleased when she opened hers and out spilled a silver badge with a giant letter P.

"Oh look, James. I've been made a prefect!" she exclaimed, showing him her badge.

"ER, um... good for you," he said, trying to hold back laughter.

"You know, you could pretend to be happy for me," she sighed.

Opening his letter he said, "Sorry, Lil', but I just don't see what's so great about-." But he stopped dead. At that very moment a silver badge fell out of his envelope, too. "What the-," he gasped.

"Oh James! Congratulations!" Lily started, but James cut her off.

"How in bloody hell did I get made a...a... a prefect!" he cried in disbelief.

"In may be a bit... erm... weird-," Lily started again.

"Honestly, Lily, it's ludicrous! I have the second highest detention rate next to Sirius Black. Sirius Black!!! The biggest troublemaker that school has ever seen. The teachers must be on drugs."

"James!" Lily exclaimed.

"Whatever possible reason could there be that they would elect me as Prefect?"

"They obviously thought you were the best for the job," Lily answered, sharply.

James sighed. "I still think they were drunk on butterbeer."

"James, you know as well as anyone you can't get drunk off butterbeer, although I know you've tried."

"Maybe they're all house-elves in disguise," he stated, thoughtfully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I just can't wait until Sirius finds out."

James looked like he was about to strangle her, so she ducked under the table for cover.

***

The next day, Sirius came back and teased James more than Lily ever imagined. ("You! A prefect! Honestly! What's this world coming to?")

James simply ignored him after about an hour, and stuck to talking to Lily. However, that didn't blow over too well as James and Lily were also trying to hide that they were now a couple. So, when James, Lily, and Sirius went to Diagon Alley for their school supplies, James really could only talk to Sirius about being made prefect, as he didn't want to give anything away about his relationship with Lily. Plus, he had good argument. I mean, it wasn't like he _wanted_ to be made a prefect. It wasn't _his_ decision. Lily, however, was quite amused by the situation, and on the train ride to Hogwarts with the rest of the gang, she teased him profusely along with everyone else. I guess you could say James was a bit peeved by the whole situation. I mean, he was now a prefect. Shouldn't the others look up to him? And what was Lily doing teasing him about being a prefect when she was one herself? And he brought this up to her when they were walking up to the castle together.

"Lily, why are you making so much fun of me for being a prefect when _you_ are a prefect yourself?"

Lily raised her eyebrows at him. "James, isn't it obvious? I mean, you're Mr. Marauder. It's, like you said, ludicrous that you were even considered to be a prefect." James pretended to be abashed at this statement, although he knew it was true. Lily just laughed at him, and made fun of him some more.

"Oh come here," he laughed, pulling her into an empty classroom. And tilting her head up to his, he kissed her lightly on the lips. At that moment, the door burst open and Sirius walked in.

James and Lily pulled away immediately. "Uh, hi?"

**A/N: Ok, that's the end for now. I'm not sure if I really like this chapter much, but as I haven't posted for over a month I decided I should just post it anyway. But if you do or don't like it, please review anyway. :) I also want to add, I think the new HP trailer is awesome, and if you haven't seen it, check it out!**


	22. Hiding... Found?

dislcaimer: it's jk's

James + Lily = The Rivalry

A/N: Hey ya'll! I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! Almost 2 months! But honestly, I was going to post right in the beginning of August from Hawaii, but then fanfiction was down! I'm so so sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy this chapter! I don't think it's as good as any of the previous chapters, but it's more of a lead-in to a whole segment of events. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

Hiding... Found?

Sirius gasped, shut the door, then reopened it. He did this several times, not believing his eyes. James and Lily, sharing a classroom and... kissing? He opened the door once again and Lily was gone. He let go of the door and blinked. He stood there, dumbfounded, for a few minutes, then finally began to speak.

"Were you? Was Lily?" he gibbered, pointing to James and the open space next to him. "Wait, what am I saying?" he said coming to his senses. "What on earth were you doing in here snogging with Evans, Prongs?"

"Evans and I? Snogging? Are you out of your mind?" James quickly lied. Sirius fed him a deeply confused look. "And may I ask, what on earth were you doing with that poor door, Padfoot?" James questioned, purposely changing the subject.

"I... I... You and Lily!" Sirius stuttered.

"It's Evans, not Lily," James reminded Sirius firmly, then pushed Sirius out the door and into the stream of students still heading for the Great Hall.

As the door shut, Lily released a sigh of relief. She had jumped behind the door as Sirius had closed it, hoping Sirius wouldn't believe what he had seen. Lily chuckled. There was no way Sirius would believe it. Her and James? The thought even even seemed ludicrous to her. It was almost like a centuar and a mermaid dating. The two just didn't go together. She pulled herself out of LaLa land, reminding herself that she and James had to be much more careful in the future. With the assurance that Sirius was gone and seemed to be believing James's feeble coverup, she felt angry with herself for being so careless. Deciding she better leave the classroom and head to the feast, Lily grabbed for the door knob. Only when she opened the door did she remember what Sirius and James had called each other. Padfoot and Prongs. What were these new nicknames? Puzzled, she slipped out of the door into the line of students flowing into the Great Hall and seated herself beside Kate and Alex and across from James. Sirius still looked rather confused and gave Lily some extremely weird looks when she sat down.

"What?" she asked him after a few minutes, trying to look innocent.

"Err... nothing," he mumbled, but he continued to give her puzzled looks. Then he spoke up, a little too loudly, "Were you... were you and James..."

"Come on, Sirius. Spit it out," she said. By now half the hall was completely disregarding the sorting ceremony and listening into their conversation.

"Were you and James kissing in an empty classroom?" he sputtered.

At that moment, everyone in the Great Hall turned to Sirius and started laughing. James and Lily both laughed along, blending in with the crowds. Even the teachers were giggling, although Dumbledore did have a bit of an odd twinkle in his eye.

"Sirius, have you gone mad? James and I hate each other!" she exclaimed. And with that, she twiddled her wand and turned James's hair scarlet. "See?" she stated sweetly. The rest of the hall looked convinced, but Sirius fed Lily another quizzical look, then turned to the ceremony.

James pretended to look sour to help with the affect, but when everyone turned back around, he winked at Lily, who smiled back.

As the night passed and the whole school ate through a few courses of dinner and dessert, James and Lily continued to look at each other, but only in glances. They didn't dare look too long for they didn't want anyone to uncover their secret.

As James made his way up the stairs, he couldn't have been happier. Even with his hair still tinted red, he felt as happy as if he had just won a million galleons. He had won something way better, the heart of Lily. He had a slight spring in his step, and hummed continually as he made his way on the familiar path to Gryffindor tower. Smiling, he made his way to his bed and plopped down on it. Staring at the ceiling and dreaming of Lily, he lay with a small smile.

"PRONGS!" Sirius yelled. James jumped. "Boy are you in dreamland. I've been calling your name for the last five minutes and you haven't wiped that smile off your face all night. What is up with you?"

"Nothing, dear Padfoot. Nothing at all," he replied, with a dazed look on his face. And then he went back to staring at the ceiling.

"It's obvious," Remus said.

"What's obvious, Moony?" Sirius questioned.

"Dear Prongs here is in love," he stated, simply. Sirius looked back at James, who was still smiling at the ceiling.

"Could it be Lily?" Sirius whispered to Remus.

They both looked at each other then laughed. "Nah."

***Meanwhile***

"So Lily, what do you think of Gavin?" Alex asked.

"Mmm?" mumbled Lily, smiling as she lay in bed staring at the ceiling.

"Have you been listening to anything I've said about my summer?" Alex inquired.

"Mmhum," hummed Lily.

"Then say something about Gavin," she interrogated.

"He has deep chocolate eyes that you simply melt in, and the most gorgeous half-smile. And I must say, the cutest little nose," Lily sighed.

"What planet is she on?" Alex asked Kate. "Gavin has blue eyes."

"Come in Lily. Earth to Lily!" Kate bellowed.

"Huh?" Lily yelped. Alex and Kate both looked at her meaningfully. "Alex, I think you should totally go for Gavin. His blond hair would blend well with your light brown and being a Ravenclaw, he'll be smart enough for you," Lily remarked quickly.

"That's better," replied Alex.

"So Lily how was your summer with Petunia?" Kate asked.

"Awful. I don't think I'm welcomed to come back into her house," Lily said glumly. "I was kicked out of her house a week before term."

"Oh that's awful! I'm dreadfully sorry," Kate gasped. "But where did you go?"

Lily didn't know what to say. She didn't want to say she'd spent a whole week with James. When Sirius had returned home, James and Lily had told him that Lily had just come that day to go shopping at Diagon Alley because she couldn't get a hold of Kate or Alex or Remus to give her a ride, and as she didn't have a broom, car, or floo powder of her own she couldn't very well travel there by herself. So instead of answering Kate's question, Lily shrugged.

"What? You didn't wander around the streets or something, did you?" asked Kate, worriedly.

Lily didn't answer. She simply looked down. Then she shook her head.

"Then where did you go?" both Kate and Alex asked in unison.

"Look guys, it doesn't matter where I went. It's in the past and no offense, but it really isn't your business," Lily stated firmly ending the conversation. Both girls looked disgruntled and fed each other puzzled looks, but dropped it.

"Well, girls, it's time for me to turn in," said Kate. "And Lily," she added, "both Alex and I aren't dumb. We can tell when you're hiding something." Then she quickly drew her curtains around her bed and ignored Lily's protests. Lily turned to Alex, but she too chose to ignore her by following Kate's lead and also closing her curtains.

Unhappily, Lily crawled under her covers. She and James were sure having problems acting normally. She only wondered what else would occur to make her friends more and more suspicious of her "weird" actions. And the next morning at breakfast she learned of the greatest threat to reveal her and James's hidden relationship...

As the Great Hall grumbled with the noise of hungry students excited for the first day of schooling, Lily, Kate and Alex all ate breakfast quietly, a little edgy over the previous nights events. As Lily was starting on her toast, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all entered, followed by Sybill. Sybill and Peter had basically begun to stick to each other as James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Kate, and Alex really didn't like either of them much. Although the group was never mean to Sybill and Peter, it was obvious the two were excluded. As James sat down a few seats away from Lily, they stole looks at each other. By the look in James's eyes, Lily could tell he was having as many problems with the guys as she was with the girls. And just when Lily thought things couldn't get worse, guess what happened? Yes, of course. Something worse did.

As the Hall continued to eat their breakfast, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"Hogwarts students," he started, clearing his throats. "It is my pleasure, and my apologies for not announcing this last night, that Hogwarts be holding a welcoming dance this year-" Lily choked on her pumpkin juice "-All students are invited and I do recommend everyone has a date. It will be held in early October before Halloween and there will be a vote a week before for the best couple at Hogwarts." And then he winked at Lily. No one in the hall seemed to notice, but Lily was shocked and a bit scared. Did Dumbledore know about her and James? She shivered.

Lily started to panic. If she and James went to the dance together, everyone would know, or at least suspect that they were a couple, or well, that they didn't hate each other. She knew that as a prefect there was absolutely no way she could get out of going to the dance, as she would probably be planning most of it with the other prefects and teachers. If only she and James hadn't always been such enemies before now their relationship wouldn't seem so _weird_. As she thought back to all of their bitter arguments, she was ashamed of how pitiful and immature they acted, although, it had been rather fun at the time. But still, she needed to talk to James, and fast.

Lily got up from the table and walked briskly over to James. "James, psst!" Lily said, urgently, "We need to talk." James looked at her confused and scared. The rest of the gang looked at them suspiciously. "Prefect business," Lily told them reassuringly. They all seemed to accept this and went back to their breakfast.

When they were out of the hall and clear from the earshot of any eavesdroppers, Lily started to talk to him, panicked. "James, what are we going to do about this whole dance situation?"

James looked at her, obviously unsure of what to do himself. "We _could _go to the dance together-"

"And have the rest of the school taunting us for the rest of the year?" Lily finished.

"Erm, yes. I suppose that isn't the best idea," James thought aloud. "We could go solo..."

"But wouldn't that look suspicious too? I mean, if you don't have a date, and I don't have a date, won't it be a bit peculiar?" she pointed out. "You know you're going to be asked by a million girls, and if you turn down every single one, and I turn down every single guy that asks me, not that any will ask-"

"Lily," he said rolling his eyes. "You have about 12 fan clubs with 50 members in each."

She cleared her throat, ignoring the comment, then continued, "Won't it look like we're trying to meet up solo at the dance?"

James sighed, "I suppose you're right." Then he continued slowly and reluctantly as though this was the last thing he wanted to say, "I guess we should go with other people."

Lily looked away from him, disappointed, not of him, but the situation in general. Why did Dumledore have to randomly schedule this stupid dance? They never had welcoming dances in previous years. Then Lily asked one of the most disturbing questions she could think of.

"So who are you going to take?"

James looked at her sadly. "I don't know. I really don't know. Lily, you know you are the only person I actually want to take. It's just as a prefect, you know, we sort of have a duty to go to these stupid things." He said prefect very bitterly and looked rather peeved of ever being made one.

"Yeah, I know," she said softly. "We better get back before anyone starts to suspect us." She took his hand and led him back to the hall, but stopped suddenly remembering his and Sirius's nicknames.

"What are these new names you and Sirius are calling each other... er Padfoot and Prongs?" she asked thinking hard remembering the names.

James looked speechless. "I'm starving. We ought to get back to the hall and finish breakfast," he said quickly, pulling her into the hall.

But Lily drug her heels into the floor, stopping James and herself from moving any further.

"Listen Lily, it's personal. As a prefect, you really wouldn't be too pleased if you knew," he mumbled.

"You're a prefect, too," she reminded him. "It shouldn't please _you _either."

James sighed. "Look, it's between Sirius, Remus, Peter and I."

"Peter?" asked Lily startled. "Peter knows and you won't tell me?"

But at that moment students began to flow out of the Great Hall and Sirius, Remus, Kate, and Alex all walked up with their bags, ready for their first day of classes.

The dance was scheduled for Friday, October 17, and over the next period Lily sat in silence during charms wondering what on earth James was hiding and why he could tell _Peter_and not herself. It rather upset her that he could share something that seemed so important with an annoying little rat and not his girlfriend. James kept glancing at her throughout the lesson, but Lily simply kept her eyes on Professor Flitwick and ignored him completely. Even after the lesson, she stalked off on her own in the opposite directions of the other Gryffindors, taking the long route to Transfiguration.

"Hey Lily?" Remus called after her, running to catch up to her. "Why are you going this way? We have transfiguration and it's in the opposite direction."

Lily shrugged, walking beside him.

"Well..." he started, walking beside her. "Are you going to the welcoming dance?"

"Not yet," she answered, sighing, not noticing the obvious signs Remus was giving her.

Stopping for a second, then walking brusquely to catch up with her he asked, "Is there any chance you might like to go with me?"

Lily stopped, shocked. She hadn't been expecting this at all. Then she thought the situation over. James had told her she should go with someone else, and Remus was a great candidate. She wouldn't be pressured into anything she didn't want to do, and would probably have a great time. "You know Remus. I'd love to," she smiled.

"Great," he grinned and turning a slight shade of red, and linked arms with her in a casual way. "You know, you really are a great friend." Then he talked all the way to transfiguration, a boyish grin permanently concreted on his face.

After a few weeks, James still didn't have a date, and his choices for an acceptable date were becoming slimmer and slimmer. He'd been asked plenty of times, but no one even came close to even being half the person Lily was, even with her not talking to him. He hadn't told her about becoming an Animagus for Remus with Sirius and Peter. He just didn't have the heart to let down Remus, even if he was taking Lily to the dance, which James was bitter about. But he did remind himself that Remus was better than some slobbery Slytherin, egotistical Ravenclaw, or sheepish Hufflepuff. He knew, Lily, who always had her heart in the right spot, definitely would not allow him to perform such a dangerous and complicated spell and would probably go to all means to stop him. But his silence, had definitely mad her unhappy, which rebounded heavily from her onto him, scaring off many more suitable dates. With three days before the dance, James was making plans to stay in the Gryffindor common room alone, even though he wouldn't be upholding his prefect responsibilities.

"Oh who cares about this stupid prefect business? It's not like I even wanted to be one anyway," he muttered, walking to breakfast alone. Being a prefect was sure causing him a lot of problems.

"James!" he heard a high voice yell. He turned around and saw one of the 5th year Hufflepuffs running toward him with bouncing blond hair.

"Ahh!" he yelled in his head and began to search for hiding places. Too late.

"James," the girl huffed, out of breath.

"Hi Jenna," James said, stiffly, his eyes still darting around for ways to escape.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about the dance," Jenna started, twirling her hair on her finger. ("Oh God, oh God," James thought.) "And," she continued, "I heard you didn't have a date!"

"Erm... yeah," he grumbled, trying not to sound to foul.

"So... Would you like to go with me?" she asked.

He didn't know what to say, but he needed a date to still be on good terms with McGonagall, who was in charge of the Gryffindor prefects. Unhappily and extremely reluctantly he agreed. Could this dance get any worse? For one thing, he hated dances. For another, he was now going with one of the biggest ditzes in the school. Only half-hearing her, James agreed to meet her at the entrance to the Great Hall 5 minutes before the dance started at 7 o'clock. He couldn't wait until Saturday when this dance was over and things could go back to being normal. (Hey, Lily's peeved at him again like she had been for so many years, so that makes his life normal?)

The only thing James could do to stay remotely happy was lay out quidditch plans for the quidditch captain who was a complete moron this year. Rosie and Anna, the previous co-captains, had graduated the year before and elected this 7th year as the next captain since this was his last year. Could anything get any worse? First this stupid dance, then Lily, and now a horrible quidditch captain...


	23. The Ball

Disclaimer: It's J. K. Rowling's. 

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the delay in posting!!! I've just been SO busy. Anyway, James and Lily are still hiding their relationship (I know, I know, it seems too dragged out), but it all leads up to the next chapter :). I've been writing this chapter over the last four months so it may be a bit choppy, but hopefully you'll enjoy it! It's 8 pages typed! Hope it's long enough! Later days... Love from, Kate Year 5

Chapter 3 

Souring, flying, and diving were the only activities at that moment that could make depressed James Potter _almost_ happy. Using magic, James summoned a box of ordinary footballs to float about 30 feet away from the goal posts. Savagely grabbing ball after ball, he flung them towards the goal posts, not paying attention to where they eventually landed. Flaming anger was coursing through his blood, nearly hot enough to melt his skin. In two hours, he would have to entertain an annoying Hufflepuff and hide the jealous pit in his stomach every time he glanced at Remus with Lily, _his_ Lily. 

"Argh!" James yelled, launching a football with all his might at the giant hoop fifteen feet away from him. He turned back around and violently grabbed another ball. 

UMF! The ball had rebounded off a goal post and planted itself directly on the back of James's head. Fuming even more than when he started, and rubbing the back of his head, James summoned the stray footballs lying among the freshly cut grass and flung them into a storage bin near the bottom left corner of the pitch. He tore through a rather muddy puddle with his Silver Arrow broomstick slung lazily over his shoulder. Reaching the gate, he slammed it open, breathing heavily and unhappily. 

"Ouch!" an unknown voice yelped. "Be careful James! You could have killed me!"

"Lily? What are you doing here?" James gasped. Remembering he was in a fight with her he added, sneering, "Shouldn't you be getting ready, or something, with all your little girlfriends?"

Lily gaped at him. She had come to talk to him, and now he was completely ignoring her. Well, she supposed he did have a reason to be a bit peeved, as she hadn't talked to him in nearly two weeks, but after all, he was the one hiding a very important secret from her that seemed could severely endanger his life. Lily jogged a few feet to catch up to him. 

"Look James, all you have to do-" she began. 

"Don't 'Look James' me, Lily. I'm not telling you what Remus, Sirius, _Peter_ and I are hiding. It is a confidential matter and if you know what's good for you, you'll keep you're big nose out of other peoples business. If you can't handle that, maybe our relationship isn't going to work out," he sneered. 

Lily looked at him dumbfounded. "F-fine," she stuttered. "We're through." And she tore back up to the castle without glancing back once. 

James stared after her, lost for words. He hadn't meant a word he said. He watched Lily all the way up to the castle door, where she turned, looked at him and then slammed the door shut. James kicked the dirt in frustration. 

"Argh!" he bellowed, the sound echoing throughout the entire quidditch pitch. "Now you've done it, James," he muttered. "You have to go find Lily." He sprinted up to the castle and raced through the castle doors.

"Lily!" he called, hopelessly, wandering aimlessly through passages he had never seen before. "Lily," he muttered softly.

"Looking for your girlfriend?" spat an awful, greasy voice directly behind him. Easily recognizing the voice, James turned to face Snape and his Slytherin buddy, Avery. 

"Yeah-" James started. "I mean, yeah right! You know dear Snape, the likelihood of Lily and I becoming a couple is actually _less_ likely than you and I becoming a couple." James obnoxiously fluttered his eyes. Snape simply stared at him disgusted. 

"Come on," Snape beckoned to Avery as James continued his search for Lily. After 30 more minutes, James began to search for a route back to the Prefect bathroom. After all, the dance did start in 20 minutes, and at the moment he was covered in slimy quidditch muck. 

After relaxing for a mere 5 minutes in the massaging blue bubbles he had become rather fond of since the beginning of school, he pulled on his dark blue dress robes and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. He sat in an armchair, his friends around him, waiting for their dates to come down the stairs. 

The arrival of the girls was announced by a choking noise made by Sirius. As James turned, he nearly felt his jaw drop. All of the girls looked _gorgeous_, but James could not take his eyes off Lily, who had been getting ready in the girls' dormitory all the while he had been searching for her. James rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Sure Lily was beautiful inside and out, but somehow, she looked different. She was wearing another green dress, tight and fitted, which went down to about mid-thigh. Her hair, up with curls spilling out of the top, was decorated with sparkling gold jewels. Her vivid green eyes were simply glowing under what appeared to be a gold eye shadow and an abundance of tiny gold sparkles. To finish the outfit, she was accented with gold earrings and the gold lily necklace he, James, had given her. She walked down the stairs well posed, and somehow more mature. James stared up at her in awe.

As Lily approached the boys, she caught James's eye. She fed him a sharp, putrid look before smiling at Remus. James's heart felt as if it were about to split, and stared at her longingly as she and Remus led the way to the ball. James walked behind her in a sort of daze. 

"What is going on between you and Lily?" Alex whispered in his ear. James jumped. He hadn't noticed her walking behind him. "I _know_ there is something going on between you two." 

"W-what?" James asked, shocked of her sudden accusation. 

Alex grabbed his arm in order to separate them from the rest of the group. "It's completely obvious, you know? You two are constantly sharing looks with each other and whenever your name is mentioned, she always sort of melts into this dream world."

James just stared at Alex, unsure of what to say. He wanted to tell her everything, but couldn't bring himself to say it. Alex noticed the pained look on his face.

"Come off it, James. Honestly, you can tell me."

"There's nothing between us," he mumbled, but Alex wasn't finished. 

"You like her, don't you?" she asked, knowingly.

Opening his mouth, James was about to admit his feelings. "I-"

"James!"

James turned to see Jenna running towards him. "I'll talk to you later, Alex," he sighed, and seeing Jenna's bouncing head, he prepared himself for a long night.

***Several Hours Later***

James dragged his feet over to the high table piled with food and drinks, and unhappily grabbed two glasses of pumpkin juice. He stood there for a moment, allowing himself to absorb the peace around him. He couldn't stand listening to Jenna gush on about her dangerous adventures at muggle malls or heroism in major fashion emergencies for one more minute. James glanced at his watch. Three more hours until it was over. Ugh. 3 more hours. 

Unhappily James turned and began to force his feet back to the fluffy chairs where Jenna was sitting directly next to the dance floor. However, when James got there, Jenna wasn't alone. James slowly glanced over the shiny pointed shoes, perfectly ironed grey pants, tight white shirt and slick blonde hair before he knew Jenna was talking to the conceited and cocky Amos Diggory, who also happened to be Jenna's ex-boyfriend. Jenna looked as though she had a rather forced smile planted on her face, and when she met James's eyes, she looked awfully apologetic.

"Hey James. Do you, er, mind if I dance with Amos a little bit?" she said almost reluctantly. 

James shrugged, and tried to hide his joy of not having to listen to Jenna gab his ear off for at least 30 minutes, maybe even the rest of the night! Forcing a straight face James managed to ask, "Do you still want some punch?"

"Thanks mate," said Amos, grabbing both cups and handing one to Jenna.

"That one was - mine," James finished to himself as both Jenna and Amos had disappeared onto the dance floor. For the first time, James noticed he was quite alone. Having no where else to go as his friends were all on the dance floor, James made his way over to the wooden tables near the entrance to the Great Hall and sat down in a wobbly vacated chair. Playing with the scratches in the wood, he began to carve a simple lily that resembled the pattern of Lily's necklace. 

"Hey mate," Remus interrupted, pulling a seat up next to James. 

"Hullo Remus," James mumbled, going over the carving a little harder. 

Remus fed James a puzzled look. "What's up with you tonight? You've been lifeless since you returned from the pitch and I'm positive that's like no ordinary James Potter I know," he smiled. James kept his face down, staring intently at the carving. 

"Alright. You can tell me later," Remus concluded, observing James wasn't going to tell him anything at the moment. "But in the meantime, I'm feeling a bit off color - full moon tomorrow night," he whispered. "I know this may be a lot to ask, but could you entertain Lily for the rest of the night?"

For the first time, James looked up at Remus, shocked and horrified. "What?!" he responded, flabbergasted. 

"Thanks mate," Remus grinned and was out of the hall faster than you could say, "werewolf."

Awkwardly, Lily, who had been standing behind Remus, sat down next to James. As soon as James opened his mouth, she turned her back to him and stared at the stone wall beside her.

"Look Lily," James began very inarticulately. She continued to ignore him and stare at the wall. "Erm... Okay," he continued. "I need to say this to you whether you are going to listen to me or not. Lily, I like you. I really like you. What I said back there at the pitch was just an ugly display of the jealousy coursing through my body as to the fact that one of my friends had a date with the one girl I cherished above anyone else in the entire world. Lily, I'm sorry. You don't have to respond or anything -" 

Lily swiveled on the spot, a grin the size of a chesire cat spread across her face. "Oh James!" she cried, throwing her arms around his shoulders. 

"Care to dance?" James asked, standing up and offering her his hand.

Lily looked at him tentatively. 

"Oh come off it, Lils. Who honestly cares what the rest of the school thinks."

Lily beamed and gladly accepted his arm. However, they only walked a few paces until a magnified voice interrupted them, echoing throughout the hall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! It is my pleasure to now announce your Hogwarts King and Queen!" 

James moaned. Of course he had to be interrupted now. 

"Will the winners please come up to the High Table when their name is called. And now for the moment you have all been waiting for. Drum roll everyone." The voice paused a minute until everyone was stomping their feet. "Our King of the evening is - Mr. James Potter!" 

James's face went white with shock. He looked over at Lily who looked as flabbergasted as he felt. He was so shocked he didn't even notice the excessive screaming from the Hufflepuffs.

"And now for your Queen. Everyone! Put your hands together for Miss Jenna Cooperson!"

The Hufflepuffs exploded in celebration. James looked over at Lily again, who stared back blankly, looking extremely green. 

"Well, go on," she muttered, pushing him to the High Table. 

"I don't want-" he resisted.

"Go!" she insisted, pushing him as hard as she could.

Suddenly James felt his legs turn to lead as he forced himself over to where Professor McGonagall was holding his crown. Jenna was already there, an excited and satisfied expression on her face as she beamed across the crowd. 

"Well done, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, placing the crown on his head.

James forced a smile and inwardly groaned. As a slow song began to play, Jenna grabbed his hand and forced him onto the dance floor. James felt his face reddening as Jenna pulled him so close that he could hardly breath. Quietly she whispered in his ear.

"Oh James! Can you believe we won? The entire school thinks we would make the BEST couple!"

"Er... Umm.. Yeah," James responded, obviously unenthusiastic to the idea. 

"So what do you fancy?" Jenna questioned, slowly moving her finger up his spine, causing a chill to race down his back. "Will you be my boyfriend?" 

James's insides froze. "W-what?" he gasped.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Jenna pressed on, massaging his back and moving even closer to him. James looked at Jenna. She was beautiful. Being over powered by his masculine emotions, he almost agreed. But then he looked over at Lily, sitting in the corner, ashen-faced and shocked. He loved, well at least really liked, Lily. Jenna may have seduced many guys purely on her beauty, but he wanted a relationship based on more than appearances. He wanted to be able to carry on an interesting conversation with the person he dated, and with Jenna, that was not a possibility. A relationship with Jenna would mainly consist of fooling around. Not that he objected to fooling around, but he was really looking for something more. And for him, Lily met and exceeded that something more. 

"James!" whispered Jenna impatiently, forcing him to snap back to reality. 

James pushed a few inches between him and Jenna's petite body and rooted his feet toe the ground. She looked at him curiously, along with the rest of the hall, wondering why on earth he had stopped dancing. 

"Come on James," she muttered. "Everyone is looking at you now."

Slowly, James began to sway to the music again and they danced in silence. When the rest of the hall had also begun to dance, Jenna muttered, "You still haven't answered my question."

James looked up at her and opened his mouth to refuse her proposal, but she put a finger on his lips. 

"Maybe this will help you," she smiled slyly, and bent over and kissed him gently on the lips. 

Unconscious of his actions, James kissed her back. Coming to the realization Jenna was not Lily; he pushed her off him and began to back away from her. However, a crashing in the distance distracted a good portion of the Great Hall. James and Jenna looked over and saw Lily and some poor first year sprawled on the floor, along with two knocked over chairs and a broken table. Jenna began to laugh and James just froze. Lily looked over in his direction, distraught and heartbroken. She began to clumsily back out of the hall, groping the walls with her hands as a guide. She didn't even bother to help the poor first year who was still whimpering on the floor. On instinct, James began to follow Lily, but Jenna grabbed his hand in protest. 

"Where are you going?" she asked innocently, fluttering her eyelashes. 

James wrenched his arm from her hand, attracting the attention of the crowd. "I'm going after my girlfriend," he grunted, loud enough for everyone relatively close to him to hear. Gasps followed him out of the hall, but he didn't care. He had to find Lily. 

James quickened his pace and began an elaborate search of the castle. Immediately he went to the Gryffindor common room, but Lily wasn't in any of the fluffy armchairs by the fire or at any of the chess tables. Ignoring the 'Girls Only' sign, James made his way to the girls' dormitory and pounded on the door. 

"Lily!" he called. "Lily, open up! I know you're in there!"

After five minutes of no response, James opened the door. He switched on the light and stared into a quiet and seemingly empty room. He looked under the beds, behind the curtains, and even in the trunks, but Lily was nowhere to be found. 

Confused as to her whereabouts, James scurried out of the dormitory, through the common room, and up to his dorm. He wasn't expecting to find Lily there, but instead grabbed his invisibility cloak so he could search for her without being interrupted.

James walked the halls aimlessly for hours upon hours. He came across Mrs. Norris once, with her glowing, lamp-like eyes. By "accident," James trapped her in a closet so she wouldn't cause him any unwanted trouble on his escapade for Lily. By 3 a.m., James was so tired he was nearly sleepwalking. He had searched the library, great hall, prefect's bathroom, charms classroom, dungeons and even the teachers lounge, but he could not find Lily. Giving up hope, James began his trek back to the Gryffindor common room. He only stopped when he came across the picture of the badger, raven and snake all encircling the house of the lion, which he had found in his second year. He stared at it blankly for a few minutes. He glanced at his watch, but his eyes were too blurry to read the numbers. Concluding that there was no possible way he could complete the 15 minute journey back to the common room, he decided to camp in the bed behind the portrait for the night. James pulled back the lever and sleepily walked inside. He trudged over to the appealing bed and was about to collapse on it. He took off his robes and the shirt he was wearing underneath, then heard a gasp in the corner. James froze and looked up to see Lily, the animagus potion ingredients spread around her, sitting awkwardly in the corner, her face stricken with tears. 


	24. Uh oh...

disclaimer: It's J. K. Rowling's.

A/N: Wow! I am so sorry! It's been a century since I've last posted! I had to go back and reread the last like 3 chapters in order to begin to even brainstorm for this chapter. I'm a complete idiot, I know. Enjoy the chapter and sorry for the extremely long and annoying delay!

James + Lily = The Rivalry

Uh Oh...

Sirius lay awake on his bed late into the night, disturbed that James had kept his entire relationship with Lily a secret. Ever since the first year James had told Sirius everything, assuring him that he HATED Lily. And although he, Sirius, often teased James about secrectly liking Lily, he never thought it would, or for that matter, could _actually_happen. Disgruntled, yet somehow pleased with his friend's newly discovered feelings, Sirius fell off into an uneasy sleep, only awakening when he found Kate sitting on his stomach, trying to wake him up as silently as possible.

"Sirius," Kate whispered, poking his shoulder.

Sirius groaned and turned over, pushing Kate off the bed and making her land with a loud thud on the floor.

"Ouch! Sirius!" she whispered harshly. She stood up and began shaking him with one hand, while rubbing her backside with the other. Sirius groggily began to come to, and smiled when he saw Kate above him.

"Come back for more, have you?" he asked, smiling seductively. Kate blushed and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"No," she hissed. "It's just Lily hasn't come back yet," then she nodded her head over to James's bed, "and apparently neither has James."

Sirius sat bolt up right and looked over at his best friend's bed.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Nearly 3:30 in the morning," Kate whispered, watching Peter tentatively as he turned over and continued to snore. "Let's go downstairs to the common room so we won't wake anyone, especially Mr. Lumpy Grumpy over there," she mouthed, while nodding her head towards Peter.

"Good idea," Sirius agreed.

Silently, Sirius pulled on a sweatshirt and the pair made their way down to the common room and sat down across from each other in two of the puffy red arm chairs, next to the now-dying common room fire. For a moment, they sat in silence, then both began to talk at once.

"I can't believe James and Lily-" Kate and Sirius looked at each other then began to laugh.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend," Kate said.

"And they kept it from even _us_," Sirius added.

"Can you believe James told the entire school?" Kate giggled.

"And now," Sirius exclaimed, "They're gone at 3:30 in the morning!"

Sirius and Kate continued laughing, but stopped suddenly when they heard a peculiar sound coming from the corner. They both looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

"Who goes there?" Sirius hollered, positioning himself in front of Kate, as if to protect her. They stood together silently, trying to focus their eyes to the darkness. "Who goes there?" Sirius asked again. Out of the shadows, a small rat ran squeaking loudly across the floor and disappeared under a table. Kate sighed loudly.

"Only a mouse," she muttered.

But Sirius stared at the spot where the mouse had been. It looked oddly familiar. "That looked like Peter," he mumbled.

"I didn't know you had a pet mouse," Kate said confused. Sirius didn't respond. Hadn't he just seen Peter Pettigrew fast asleep up in the dormitory seconds ago? Kate looked at Sirius oddly, then shrugged.

"We should probably go look for James and Lily," she said, grabbing his hand. "Only God knows what kind of trouble those two could be in right now!"

And with hands still clasped, they left the common room.

James stared at Lily, unsure of what to say. He wanted to say he was sorry, that he loved her, that he was stupid, and that he didn't mean to hurt her, but he couldn't figure out what to say first. He simply kept his eyes locked on hers, frozen with guilt, fear, and unhappiness. With tears in her eyes, Lily looked down at the animagi supplies in her hands and began to talk with a very hoarse voice.

"Is this it? Is this the whole big secret you've been keeping from me?" Lily asked, shoving the materials back into the old wooden crate.

James stared at her in shock. She said it like the secret had been stpuid, worthless, and that it really didn't matter to her. She didn't seem worried or upset that he had been working to perform a life-threatening transfiguration on himself and his friends.

James stuttered for words. "I'm sorry," he finally managed to say. "Lily. I'm so sorry."

Lily turned her head away. "Lily, you have to believe me. I didn't want to keep it from you."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't care about _that_. You kissed her, James."

James leaned against the wall and threw his head back. "Lily, you have to understand something." He tilted his head back down and looked her in the eye. "The only girl I l-," he paused, "like, is you. I even told the whole hall after you left-"

"You told the whole hall?" she gasped.

James nodded his head, unsure where or not she was angry, happy, or completely upset.

"The entire hall?" she asked again, unable to believe her ears.

"Lily. I didn't mean -"

"You go and kiss another girl and then tell the enitre hall you like me?" She shook her head. "You can't have your potion and drink it, too," she snapped, clenching her fists so they turned a ghostly white. James swore he could see smoke billowing out from her ears. If she had looked upset before, it was no match to how she looked now.

James stared at her, lost for words. "Honestly, Lily -"

"AND," she continued, "I can't believe this is what you've been keeping from me! What'd you think? I'd turn you in if I found out? Bloody hell James! I'm not _that _much of a goody-goody."

James looked at his feet. "I know," he mumbled.

"Is that all you have to say? 'I know!' Merlin, James!" She stared at him, waiting for a response, but he stared wordlessly back at her, knowing whatever he he could say would only make her angrier.

"Fine," she said, moving the supply box from her lap and glaring at James. "Fine. I'm leaving." Lily stared at him, frustration raging in her vibrant green eyes. She stood up, her dress wrinkled and covered with tear stains, and began walking briskly toward the door.

"Lily! Wait!" James called, standing up and taking a step after her. She turned around and stared at him. The rage was gone from here eyes, but replaced by a look of utter sadness. A tear trickled down her cheek, making James feel as if his heart was about to rip in two.

James didn't know what made him say it. The thought had never even crossed his mind before. He didn't know if he said it because he was feeling guilty or if he was actually expressing the way he felt in his heart. But after seeing Lily so upset and so hurt by something he, James, had done, he couldn't stop himself. The words even sounded strange and distant to him when his lips uncontrollably formed the words, "Lily, I love you."

Lily, apparently, was just as shocked by James's proclamation. She stared at him, flabbergasted, for nearly a minute. She opened her mouth, and closed it, looking like a fish out of water. Then, without warning, she turned around and walked out of the room. James looked at the spot where Lily had been. What was he expecting? Did he really think she would turn around and run into his arms? James shook his head, ashamed and shocked of what he had just said to her. Then his head jolted up. He was determined to not let Lily go.

Without thinking twice, James charged out of the room. He looked both ways, wondering which way she turned. Taking the left hall, James suddenly felt quite cold. He looked down. He had forgotten he was only wearing his boxers. He looked back at the room which was now a good one hundred yards away. If he went back, he knew he would be too far behind to ever catch up to her. Looking for any sign of Lily, James began to run, following the instincts of his heart.

Lily walked, her eyes filled with tears and her forehead wrinkled in confusion. James had betrayed her. He had kissed another girl in front of the entire school. He had enjoyed it. Lily stopped walking. Had he enjoyed it? As she thought back, he had pulled away fairly quickly. She wrinkled her nose at that thought of James and Jenna. Lily began to shake her head.

"Lily, you are so pathetic," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. "How can you be so hung up on a guy?"

She began walking again, her pace very slow, unsure whether she _really _wanted to keep herself hidden from James. While one part of her was screaming in pain and anger, another part wanted to forgive him and simply cuddle close in his arms. He had said he loved her. No person had said he loved her since her parents died. She began to cry even harder at the thought of her parents.

"Oh brother," she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief at how emotional she was. She stopped walking and sat down in a dark, shadowy corner, trying to pull herself together. She took a few deep breaths. She jumped when she looked up. James was a mere two feet away from her, standing in the middle of the corridor looking like a lost puppy... a lost, nearly naked puppy. As she was in a dark corner, James couldn't see her, but seeing him in his boxers in the middle of a freezing corridor couldn't stop her from muffling a laugh.

"Lily?" James asked, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark shadows.

Suddenly, a dark figure rolled out, knocking him over.

"Argh!" he yelled, unsure what this... this... thing was that had knocked him over. Lifting his head, James looked at the dark red hair spread across his bare stomach, which was connected to the tear-striken face of Lily.

"Nice outfit," she said.

James blushed slightly, pushing himself onto his elbows so he could stare down at Lily. He couldn't hide his happiness seeing Lily again, even if she was still livid with him. But no, she didn't look angry any more. James stared into her eyes, trying to read what she was feeling. He frowned. He had hurt her, and he couldn't forgive himself for that.

"We better get you back to the room," she said.

Lily nodded in agreement. James stood up, then helped Lily to her feet. James followed closely behind Lily, wondering if he could take her hand. He stared back and forth between his hand and hers. Lily glanced over at him and raised her eyebrows. Her deep green eyes sparkled, even in the light of these drafty corridors, making his heart flutter.

SMACK!

James ran into an opened door, causing Lily to fall into a fit of giggles. She had to sit down, she was laughing so hard.

James rubbed his head, dazed by the crash. He looked down at Lily and couldn't help but smile.

"Ehem," came a voice just beside James, causing him to jump. Lily had been laughing so loudly and uncontrollably that neither James nor Lily noticed two people walk through the open door that James had run into.

"Nice outfit," commented Sirius, Kate closely by his side, chuckling quietly.

James smiled at his friend, embarrased by his attire but relieved he wasn't a teacher.

"I see you two have made up," Sirius said approvingly. "Seems they weren't in trouble after all, Kate." Sirius and Kate looked at each other and burst out laughing. James and Lily looked at their friends, then gave each other a puzzled look. James shrugged, unsure of what his friends found so comical.

"Think we should leave them here?" James whispered to Lily, referring to Kate and Sirius who were now using the stone wall to support their hysterical bodies. Lily nodded her head. James helped her up, leaving his face only inches from hers. "Do you mind if I-?" he breathed.

Lily shook her head, her face still so close to his. "Not yet."

James pulled away and nodded. He had some work to do. But Lily was worth it. "Well this time, I will be sure to not run into any open doors."

Lily giggled, making James smile again. It was a start.

A/N: Ok! That's it for now! Sorry it's rather short, but I just thought this was a nice ending point until the next chapter which will be posted in.. ohhh.. about a year. lol, j/k. i'll try to post the next chapter before school starts. well... i hope you enjoyed this chapter! sorry... it's a bit cheesy... mushy love and dramatic fighting scenes are not my specialty. actually... i suck all together at writing, but whatever. it's fun, and reviews are GREAT! lol... review pppllleeeaaassseee :) gracias - kate


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